Study: Fracking Chemicals Sullied Pennsylvania Drinking Water

Chemicals contaminated the drinking supply in a town in Pennsylvania, one of the fracking capitals of the country, according to a recent study.

"This is the first documented and published demonstration of toxic compounds escaping from uncased boreholes in shale gas wells and moving long distances [into drinking water]," according to Susan Brantley, an author of the study, per the Associated Press.

The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), focused on "a case where natural gas and other contaminants migrated laterally through kilometers of rock at shallow to intermediate depths, impacting an aquifer used as a potable water source."

"Analysis of drinking water gathered from the homes revealed small amounts of 2-Butoxyethanol or 2-BE, a compound commonly found in cosmetics and household cleaners. 2-BE has been shown to cause tumors in rodents, though its effects on humans remain less clear, and researchers say the amounts discovered in Pennsylvania were within regulatory limits," The Verge reported.

Methane and other substances were found at dangerous levels in three water wells in Bradford County, PA five years ago. "The incident was one of several involving Chesapeake Energy that prompted state environmental regulators to levy a record $1 million fine against the driller in May 2011,” the Associated Press reported.

The findings provide ammunition for policymakers, scientists, and environmentalists who say that fracking poses a threat to scarce water resources and should be more heavily regulated.

The government recently took one of its most aggressive actions to date increasing fracking oversight. The Obama administration unveiled new rules for fracking after years of criticism that it had not done enough to safeguard the water supply from this oil and gas industry practice.

"The new [Interior Department] rules require oil and gas companies to disclose all the chemicals used while fracking on protected lands," ThinkProgress reported. In addition, "companies will be prohibited from storing fracking wastewater in open pits on national public land and required to periodically test the integrity of every well to help prevent pollution."

The oil-and-gas industry maintains that fracking is not a threat to the water supply. Some research suggests that fracking can be done without threatening the water supply.

For more on fracking wastewater, visit Water Online’s Industrial Produced Water Solutions Center.