When you say "Hydraulic Fracturing" the term sounds innocent and innocuous, sounding like some sort of technical term that would take some sort of education to understand. However in the literal meaning of the term, it is actually quite easy to understand, the process fractures rock, (cracks) and a proppant is pumped into the creaks, (usually sand) to keep the crack open.
The process, which has been used in it's basic form, in Manistee, Michigan for years as a means to forcing salt to the surface, from one of the worlds largest salt deposits which runs south from the northern Michigan city into New York state. A whole different set of chemicals mixed with water has achieved a less expensive way to capture salt and pass the savings on to the general public.
The method of injecting water, chemicals and sand into the ground enables gas and oil exploration companies to extract either natural gas, or oil from deep underground, from depths reaching as much as 20,000 feet underground. A drill hole is bored to the suspected reservoir areas and the solution is then forced into the area, and wala, natural gas or oil is produced.
We now get to the interesting part of the process and what it really means to those people living close to the process and sometimes those folks that might live hundreds of miles from the site. The slang term for Hydraulic Fracturing is Frac, or Frac Job, or Fracking. Right away you get into a grammatical circus with this term, "frac." It can be misunderstood so easily, like "have a fracking good day," or "frack off," or "today was just fracked." All legitimate terms on the gas and oil fields, yet possibly misconstrued in the regular world.
Kidding aside, the hydraulic fracturing process can be a highly controversial issue as three Democrat house members raised questions about millions of gallons of potentially hazardous chemicals and known carcinogens that were pumped into the ground between 2005 and 2009 during routine searches for natural gas and oil.
A long list of chemicals that are used to fracture rock formations have been listed and I will take just two to examine as I am not a chemist and do not wish to get technical and attempt to write about issues I know absolutely nothing about, I would no doubt "Frack things up."
The first chemical is 2-Bromo-nitro-1,3-propanediol, listed as part of the fracturing fluid that is injected into the ground. The listed hazards to human health include eye contact, skin contact, inhalation and ingestion, in any of these cases, flush the area with water and get immediate medical attention. If the solution is ingested, do not induce vomiting and, again, get immediate medical attention.
The second chemical is methanol, listed as an ingredient in the fracturing process. Methanol has a high toxicity in humans and can cause blindness if ingested even in small amounts, and death in ingested in pure form. Methanol poisoning can be treated, although it can be hard to recognize and analyze as it resembles a person under the influence of alcohol. Lack of coordination, confusion, central nervous system depression and dizziness, like my sisters usual state. You know who you are, you know....the adopted sister.
Natural gas exploration is going on at the headwaters of the Pennsylvania watershed which feeds the eastern part of that state as well as much of New York state, New York city and parts of New Jersey. If these waters are in peril by the exploration, all the natural gas in the world will not replace the water that is needed by the millions of people that would be effected.
Greed seems to be fueling this search by major gas and oil industry as well as land owners "cashing in" on the opportunity to get rich quick. This environmental problem is one that is not years off, rather could effect a major portion of the United States within a few years. Before we allow our environmental watch-dog committees and departments to be de-funded by lobbyists and politicians, we need, as a concerned people, ask the important questions about the impact that these processes will have on our resources.
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