Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 11:31AM Scientists Studying Connection Between Fracking And Earthquakes
Scientists are investigating the connection between hydraulic fracturing - more commonly known as fracking - and earthquakes, intensifying the fierce debate over the natural gas extraction method.
Scientists have increasingly linked minor earthquakes with fracking outfits, alarming those who live nearby such wells. However, definitively proving that fracking is spurring earthquakes is exceedingly difficult, and that has pitted supporters and critics against one another. MIT's Technology Review reports that the biggest question facing policymakers is whether to shut down certain fracking wells, or ratchet up efforts to monitor seismic activity.
Some companies have already acknowledged that their fracking operations were responsible for prompting earthquakes. Britain's Caudrilla Resources noted that a consulting group with which it contracted conducted a study and concluded that one of the company's fracking outfits caused an earthquake last April that measured 2.3 on the Richter scale.
Fracking could be causing earthquakes, according to scientists, because of the huge amounts of water and chemicals pumped thousands of feet beneath the ground's surface that are critical in extracting natural gas from shale formations. In Oklahoma, a state geologist's report concluded that a fracking operation was likely responsible for the 43 earthquakes that occurred after it injected more than 2.4 million gallons of fluid into a well.
Nevertheless, fracking supporters have largely swatted away earthquake concerns. They assert that mining operations similarly dig thousands of feet beneath the ground, and they have not drawn as stringent opposition. Moreover, those within the industry - including Caudrilla Resources - argue that fracking would not likely cause serious earthquakes, those designated as greater than magnitude 3.0.
The connection between fracking and earthquakes, however, could spur significant changes in state policies, The Wall Street Journal reports. The federal government does not develop or enforce fracking regulations, leaving the matter to states. As a result, states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio have divergent laws pertaining to fracking and the treatment of drilling wastewater.
Ohio lawmakers are divided over fracking, but a 4.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Youngstown last week has rattled even supporters. Ohio Governor John Kasich, who supports fracking, shut the wastewater well that experts said likely prompted the earthquake. He also ordered a thorough review of all seismic activity in the area.
A number of prominent engineers have lobbied government officials to outlaw fracking until the scientific community reaches a consensus on long-term safety problems. Even amid such concerns, though, many public leaders have endorsed fracking, arguing that it has caused natural gas prices to drop precipitously, and has made the U.S. the biggest natural gas producer in the world.
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