There is evidence that silica exposure can lead to COPD, kidney disease, and autoimmune conditions with consistent exposure.Ģ. Crystalline silica is an occupational lung carcinogen, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and about 150 people die from silicosis every year. Water and sand may be natural materials, but having sand blasted into the atmosphere from the fracking process is not a natural event. That means cheaper energy, a cheaper cost of living, and more discretionary spending money for households.ġ. In Colorado, some communities have seen stable or reduced property tax levies since 2001 because of fracking activities. That is because the revenues generated from fracking are funneled into schools, infrastructure, and social services. In areas where hydraulic fracking is common, property tax rates often go down. The chances of contamination are often greater at home than they are from within a well. The two most common substances that are added to the fluid are sodium chloride and guar gum, which are found in almost everyone’s home. In some cases, the amount of chemicals is just 0.5%. Just 1% of the hydraulic fracking fluid is chemically-based. That makes hydraulic fracking a cost-effective way to obtain the energy we need on a regular basis.ĥ. Many wells can be active for several years at a time with only minimal maintenance required. Once this process is completed, the active wells leave a limited presence on the landscape. Fracking allows the resources to be obtained. Every industry experiences accidents and containment issues, but in terms of overall safety, few are better than hydraulic fracking when it comes to energy. have gone on record to state that in terms of safety, hydraulic fracking is one of the best methods of energy extraction that is being used right now. Numerous officials at the local, state, and national level in the U.S. conducted a 5-year study on hydraulic fracking and found 0 events of water contamination that were connected to the extraction process. The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. It is a process that has been proven to be safe. Burning natural gas is cleaner than coal, produces fewer particulates, and can even reduce localized emissions.ģ. In the United States, the amount of natural gas consumption for electricity generation went up 10 percentage points while coal-fired plants fell to just one-third of the U.S.-based energy supply. It provides access to cleaner energy resources.Īs hydraulic fracking increases, the amount of coal used for energy typically decreases. Only then are the fluids used to encourage extraction.Ģ. It is a process that is repeated until the resource is reached. Holes are drilled in the casings and filled with cement. After a hole has been drilled, steel casings are inserted into the well, sometimes to depths of 4,000 feet. Hydraulic fracking is the last step, not the first step, in accessing natural resources. It is a process that protects local water supplies. Here are some of the hydraulic fracking pros and cons to consider when evaluating this overall process. That, in turn, provides us with the energy that we use every day.Īccording to, up to 80% of the wells drilled in the United States may require hydraulic fracking to remain operational within the next 10 years. After a hole has been drilled to access those resources, the fluid, which is 99% water and sand, encourages the well to maximize its resources. Hydraulic fracking is the process of accessing oil and natural gas resources by using fluids and materials to restore or create small fractures in a formation.
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