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Environmental Action Hub is pushing for the water arguments to come into consideration in our legal challenges of fracking. You will find the evidence supporting all the points we make, including Scientist Yuri Gorby's evidence, on this page. Some of our main points regarding the water pollution, as a overview: 1. Our subterrain is unpredictable, porous, water filled, everything migrate upwards due to the pressure. (Jill Heinerth Video, link below) 2. When drilling biocides are pumped down to protect the well casing from microlife making the concrete/cement and the steel disintegrate (Yuri Gorby). 3. This procedure (biocides) is also taking place in connection with exploratory drilling. A well costs around £30 million, so the investors will want to protect it from damage to the well casing. 4. Some of the biocides used in the fracking process are so toxic that one molecule in your body will kill you. These toxins makes organic life disintegrate. 3. In USA Biocides have been pumped down (re-injected) after a well is capped every 3-5 years to maintain the well-casing. (Yuri Gorby). Read more: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/global-warming/issues/fracking/environmental-impacts-water/
 There are many other serious issues related to the water, like for example; - Many other toxic fracking chemicals are used, also in the exploratory drilling process, when test fracking and, especially, when fracking. - Shale deep down is radioactive and the water, as well as the gas, becomes radioactive in the fracking process. - Water is removed from the eco-system (or should be). - Toxic and radioactive frack-water is spilled or illegally disposed of in our vulnerable nature. Flooding is a threat. - When fracking, massive amounts of water is involved. - Many many more. Find inspiration from the links on this page. Our main argument is, that we cannot even allow exploratory drilling as the toxic and radioactive substances, which would be partly pumped down under very very high pressure and partly released from the existing subterrrain, will migrate, upwards, and the way it's dispersed in the subterrain is unpredictable. Our 'bedrock' is not an impermeable rock. It's more like a water filled sponge, and keep in this context that very very high pressure is applied to the toxic and radioactive substances in the process. We, as a democratic society, have not consciously made the consequential very serious (wrong) decision to undermine our own existence by fracking and sacrificing our fresh water. If such a plan was documented and communicated to the public, it would surely not pass. We, as a society, could not have a prosperous healthy agriculture (Californian produce grown with frack-water are toxic and there has been pushed for labeling of them), we could not brew beer (German breweries stopped fracking there), produce whiskey (Scotland wants fracking banned) or take a bath - and all the toxic and radioactive fracked water cannot be processed to become safe again, and would be (should be) removed from the eco-system. A very unsustainable strategy, and bottled water transported to the consumers?!! How would that be green? Or healthy? Or practically possible to run a farm or a business? There has been no calculation of the cost of sacrificing aquifers (that are interconnected, so endless damage). Are the biocides used by the fracking industry really so toxic that one molecule will kill? YES. It's clear to me that we, in the anti-fracking movement, have to work harder to become succesful in having a constructive dialogue with every type of engineer and academic who 'debunk' our arguments when we have discussions with people we need to get involved. So far people, who are new to fracking, have been relying on what experts and the media tell them about fracking and they are very reluctant to listen to 'scaremongering' anti-frackers. However, we really need to make them listen to what we know about fracking, as the frackers haven't been stopped yet, despite all our efforts, but they are drilling NOW, and plan to do so in many areas in the UK and around the world. We must engage everyone, we can, in order to stop fracking which would end up polluting our aquifers irreversibly, as well as cause an unstable subterrain, ruin infrastructure and the land, make people sick, cause property damage and great financial problems and insurance problems. Fracking causes serious problems for farmers, brewers, distillers and other food and drink industries, tourism and wildlife, as well as for local residents. How could anti-frackers better convince people, who are new to fracking, that there is more to know about fracking than what academics and industry specialists tell them? Perhaps we could take a step back from the discussion and start with making it clear to everyone that you cannot necessarily operate on a brain, if you know how to fix a broken leg, and you do not necessarily know everything about the bed-rock, if you are a geologist, engineer, biologist or work at the water company. Apparently, concerned scientists and qualified anti-frackers, who research fracking and the bed-rock in depth, end up knowing a lot more about the consequenses of fracking than the specialists who claim the technology is safe. It takes a comprehensive (expensive) approach and a process in which the researchers hold together both the scientific evidence (over 400 reports), the logic, drawn from what we know about nature, physics, chemistry and biology, and the abundance of evidence of damage to the land, the water, live stock and humans, to be able to draw a conclusion about the safely of fracking. Hundreds of scientists have done that, and still the fracking industry is heavily supported and fracking projects are fast-tracked and pushed through by a government which is overruling objections and decisions of local governments in, for example, Lancashire. The fracking industry and the UK government refuse to admit that they cannot contradict the evidence that fracking is unsafe and leaves wastelands behind. Anti-frackers are not lobbyists, they are seeking do prevent serious damage to our land and livelihood. Discussing fracking is difficult because of the size and complexity of the factors which influence the subterrain and because it is as good as completely unknown, despite what the industry claims to know about it. When it comes to the test, all fly overs, scans and other tests are only guidelines at best and noone knows for real what material compositions exist 10 meters away from a test drill. Like studying the human body, studying our bed-rock requires subject divison and categorization, team-work and a comprehensive oversight. Here is my explanation of the science behind why biocides are so toxic that one molecule can kill: Some biocides are grown directly on micro-organisms, some are produced artificially. They can be a material (often liquid) with a mix of molecyles and living cells, a living biocide. A passive biocide consist of only molecules. The type of lab-manufactured biocides, used in fracking, can never be compared with pesticides. They are immeasurably more toxic than the pesticides our farmers are permitted to spray in our fields. One drop of a biocide in a stream will kill all life in the proximity and seriously pollute the stream, and the fish will die as they are killed on the molecular level in the same way, as if a human body suddenly had all white blood cells removed. One molecyle from a biocide, of the type used by the fracking industry, will damage and end up killing most living organism, as the biocide molecule cause changes in a organism's cells, in a way similar to, but not comparative with, the way that chemo-treatment operates in cancer cells. This is partly why scientist have concluded that biocides cause cancer. Biocides used in the fracking process are made to be extremely toxic in order to kill the micro-organisms who deteriorate the well-casing made of concrete and hot galvanised steel, and yet they fail to do so. The microbes, who live in the deep subterrrain composite of rocks and metals under enormous pressure and high temperatures, are very hard to kill and so far the frackers' biocides have only managed to paralyse them temporarily. The microbes return from their paralysis after a while and this is why fresh biocides have been pumped down into the fracking wells on a regular basis. Biocides used in fracking operations to kill the micro-organisms in the bed-rock are so toxic there is no lower limit, a drop can kill or cause cancer and the precautions on the product labels also show this; gloves, masks and protective clothing. Research from Danish engineer/researcher Knud Kristensen Professor Yuri Gorby The Microbial Complications of Fracking Geomicrobiology Expert Yuri Gorby Joins Rensselaer as Blitman Professor of Engineering Video: Interview with Yuri Gorby on the potential of long term impact from anaerobic sulfur reducing bacteria as they relate to fracking and geobiology. Taken at a area of ground water contamination. To see the interview with the owner of the property describing issues. http://45.58.122.116/downloads/ES_Gorby_LoFi.mp3 Quotes from Anthony R Ingraffea and Mike Wills: “Frack fluid migrate up, among other things through faults and old wells. By drilling, casing, cementing, you pollute groundwater with frack fluid and methane emissions. To casket (case?) a hole is the problem. There is large pressure and 10.000 holes (?) and the gas escapes. Hardened cement paste is used, it's not a good material, not flexible, not impermeable, it ages badly, and certainty a significant percentage of all gas wells are leaking and will leak. This will never be solved. Since 2010 5-10% of gas wells are leaking in Pennsylvania, there are 1,000 wells leaking into drinking water in Pennsylvania, 100 families have lost access to water.” (Anthony R Ingraffea) I've worked on more well sites and drilling sites than I care to mention. It's a very inexact science. There is no 100% sure way to protect a water table sitting above a well. Once the casing is in it’s in. It’s not like you can remove it and change it every 10 years! Forget visual impacts on the environment - as unpleasant as that is - it’s water table contamination that is the major issue and there is no 100% safe protection method. (Mark Wills) Beyond Fracking: Experts Challenge Safety of Exploratory Wells, Vertical Drilling Water is unsafe even before fracking begins And we repeat: Exploratory drilling can involve test fracking and this is not safe (from BBC radio debate about fracking in UK) The oil companies do not 3D map the entire area and identify all fissures through which the toxic and radioactive frack fluids can migrate. 500m is no distance geologically, many layers in the bedrock are brittle, unpredictable and vulnerable. The well hole will not stay intact forever, when many 100 wells are drilled it's a great problem as the pollution from the leaking wells will migrate across the area. There is no robust regulation body in place. Experts say you can make fracking safer, but not safe. We have had many examples where the oil companies have been caught lying. If it's all so good for us, why can't they be honest? We have not seen any examples of "best practise" in these initial stages. Video: Jill Heinerth: The mysterious world of underwater caves Cave diver Jill Heinerth explores the hidden underground waterways coursing through our planet. Working with biologists, climatologists and archaeologists, Heinerth unravels the mysteries of the life-forms that inhabit some of the earth's most remote places and helps researchers unlock the history of climate change. In this short talk, take a dive below the waves and explore the wonders of inner space. Articles on water pollution from fracking
Leith Hill drilling poses 'risk to water supply', claims water firm Easy, inexpensive ways to test water for contaminants Water is unsafe even before fracking begins
Fracking is depleting water supplies in America's driest areas, report shows A Texan tragedy: ample oil, no water Fossil Fuel Giants Guzzling World's Water as Poor Go Thirsty: UN Insurance shock for Wells home owners German Beer Brewers Win Fracking Protection for Spring Confirmed: California Aquifers Contaminated With Billions Of Gallons of Fracking Wastewater The Feds Just Got Sued for Letting Nestle Bottle Water in California's Drought Country Oil and Water Don't Mix: California Must Ban Fracking Hexavalent chromium (chromium-6) was just found in 75% of drinking water... the mass chemical suicide of America is under way TELL THE EPA: TAKE ACTION ON CHROMIUM-6 CONTAMINATION IN DRINKING WATER Its Own Scientists Question EPA Claim Fracking Is Safe for Drinking Water EPA Science Advisors Balk at Fracking Study Fracking Has Contaminated Drinking Water, EPA Now Concludes Long-Awaited EPA Study Says Fracking Pollutes Drinking Water EPA Proposal Allows Radiation Exposure in Drinking Water Equivalent to 250 Chest X-Rays a Year Cancer-causing pollutant made famous by Erin Brockovich found in NE Ohio drinking water Facing the challenge of toxic wastewater produced by oil and gas companies 4 States Struggling to Manage Radioactive Fracking Waste Food & Water Watch Welcomes Scientist Robert Howarth to its Board UK fracking firm plans to dump wastewater in the sea Farmer speaks out against pollution after local authority gives go-ahead for fracking DART ENERGY DUMPS EXTRAORDINARY LEVELS OF BENZENE INTO FIRTH OF FORTH Water, Brought to You by the Fossil Fuel Industry Duke Study: Rivers Contaminated With Radium and Lead From Thousands of Fracking Wastewater Spills Before Fracking Begins, Air and Water Tests Still a Rare Precaution Video: People Before Profit - Water Charges are politically dead. Nestlé Just Gained Control Over This Town's Water for the Next 45 Years UK defeats European bid for fracking regulations 'Orphan' oil wells warning for fracking Wrecking the Earth: Fracking has grave radiation risks few talk about Video: Christopher Busby is an expert on the health effects of ionizing radiation. Committee on Radiation Risk based in Brussels and has edited many of its publications since its founding in 1998. He has held a number of honorary University positions, including Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Health of the University of Ulster. Busby currently lives in Riga, Latvia. chrisbusbyexposed.org - greenaudit.org - llrc.org Significant contamination at 3,900 fracking spill sites in North Dakota alone Texas Floods Sending Toxic Fossil Fuel Runoff into Public Waters Organic farms near drilling activity in the U.S. and Ohio Hot Sludge: Problems With Recycling Frack Waste This Farmer Asked Oil And Gas Commissioners To Drink Fracking Water Shock: Fracking Used to Inject Nuclear Waste Underground for Decades Video: Ray Kemble talking to the Watershed Sentinel about Fracking. Thousands of people across the Westcountry could be drinking water that is radioactive State confirms low-level nuclear waste was dumped at Estill landfill Estill County leaders to fight 'tooth and toenail' over radioactive waste in landfill REPORT - Shale Gas and Water 2016 Citizens Fighting For the Drinking Water of Northern Ireland's Capital FIVE SITES ALREADY EARMARKED FOR FRACKING WASTE IN THE UK!!! EACH AND EVERY FRACKING WELL PRODUCES MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WASTE… IT'S ALL TOXIC. Fracking Creates Massive Radioactive Waste Problem Yet Another Study Links Fracking And Water Contamination
Fracking waste water
UK failing to learn U.S. lessons on fracking waste water Fracking Fluid Contains A Stew Of Known Toxic Chemicals -- And That May Not Be The Worst Of It Toxins found in fracking fluids and wastewater, study shows
Flooding A fifth of 14th round fracking blocks have significant flood risk Video: When fracking meets flooding - is Colorado headed for disaster? FLOODING FLUSHES OIL, CHEMICALS INTO TEXAS RIVERS Colorado flooding may unleash fracking fluids
Growing food with toxic water California Drinking Water: Not Just Vanishing, But Also Widely Contaminated Fracking water being used to irrigate crops California Farmers Irrigate Crops With Chevron's Oil Wastewater in Drought-Stricken Central Valley 35K Californians Boycotting Produce Grown With Oil Wastewater These Popular Fruit and Veggie Brands May be Grown With Oil Wastewater Expert warns of fracking risk to water supplies and food chain
Radiation IAEA Reaches Milestone in the Disposal of Radioactive Sources Dangerous levels of radioactivity found at fracking waste site in Pennsylvania Plutonium levels near Devonport spark call for more testing How much depleted uranium (DU) have they used? Video: Fracking radioactive water dumped in Manchester Ship Canal. Radioactivity Found in Pennsylvania Creek, Illegal Fracking Waste Dumping Suspected Radiation found in Greene County stream near water supply How Fracking Is Exposing People to Radioactive Waste Radioactive Waste Booms With Fracking as New Rules Mulled North Dakota Finds Itself Unprepared To Handle The Radioactive Burden Of Its Fracking Boom
Nuclear waste Hardest sell: Nuclear waste needs good home Law changed so nuclear waste dumps can be forced on local communities Fracking Could Dispose of Nuclear Waste, Scientist Says Government has asked us to undertake a national geological screening exercise to support the implementation of its policy for geological disposal of higher activity radioactive waste.Shock: Fracking Used To Inject Nuclear Waste Underground For Decades Britain leads race to make nuclear waste safe for 100,000 years
Fracking chemicals
Water contamination consequenses Public health emergency declared in Flint, Michigan, due to contaminated water How Michigan literally poisoned an entire city to save a few bucks Flint brothers trek 2 miles every day for water In Flint, Mich., there's so much lead in children's blood that a state of emergency is declared Lancashire water bug alert remains at 50,000 homes Gas companies penalized nearly $400K after methane seeps into home wells
More water articles Shallow Fracking Wells May Threaten Aquifers Secret emails reveal the risk to water in Sussex from fracking was known by officials Are Fracking Wastewater Wells Poisoning the Ground beneath Our Feet? Video: ROBERT REDFORD: Fracking Puts Our Drinking Water at Risk WIDESPREAD AND SYSTEMIC: FRACKING INDUSTRY INTIMIDATION TACTICS TO HIDE WATER POLLUTION Dioxin found in east Harris County water wells 4 states confirm water pollution from drilling Government Criminalizing Rainwater Collection in All Out War on Self Sufficiency New map of Earth's groundwater to help estimate when it may run out Ben Howlett keen to ensure Bath's natural spa water is safeguarded from fracking Government backtracks on fracking safeguards for drinking water and protected areas SNP accused of privatising £360m water contract Don't Frack South Africa's Water Factory! State shuts 33 wells injecting oil wastewater into aquifers Providing safe drinking water on reserves is simple. Just do it Surface spills near fracking sites implicated in water contamination Chemometric Study of the Ex Situ Underground Coal Gasification Wastewater Experimental Data Fracking operator faces record $8.9M fine for alleged water contamination US Town May Become the Nation's First to Ban Nestle From Stealing Their Water Fracking wastewater that is treated for drinking produces potentially harmful compounds Cuadrilla banks on low return of flowback fluid for Lancs wells Fracking dilemma: Fresh water or cheap gas? The latter 'is not likely to happen' Video: The Secret Life of Water ~ Masaru Emoto Video: Nestle CEO declares water "food that should be privatized, and not a human right" Toxic waste water dumped in streets and rivers FRACKING TAKES MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF CLEAN WATER & POISONS IT FOREVER Fracking leads to 36-hour fluid spill at neighboring well Cracks in the Facade, 25 Years Ago, EPA Linked â€Fracking†to Water Contamination Fracking Water: It's Just So Hard to Clean Chevron Tries to Give us Bottled Water as an offering Massive Right to Water Protest in Dublin as Political Policing of Activists Continues Pumping CO2 into frack wells could prevent water contamination Our public water future: The global experience with remunicipalisation Scientists Discover Fracking Chemicals In Pennsylvania Drinking Water The Pope says No to Fracking and that "Water is worth more than gold" SHIPPING OF FRACKING WASTE WATER ON RIVERS AND LAKES Analysis Finds Offshore Fracking Industry Pumping Toxic Wastewater Into Coastal Waters Pennsylvania Fracking Study Shows Chemicals Did Not Contaminate Water Wastewater Case Raises the Concept of Underground Trespassing Fracking contamination more common than US states report, says new review Water Pollution From Drilling Confirmed In At Least 4 States, Casting Doubt On Safety Of Boom Fracking produces annual toxic waste water enough to flood Washington DC Leaking well, company draw state's notice EPA: California Offshore Frackers Must Disclose Chemicals Dumped Into Ocean Republican Deregulation Culture to Blame For Water Poisoning West Virginia Chemical Spill Fracking fears over waste water could delay plans Incidents where hydraulic fracturing is a suspected cause of drinking water contamination MP demands answers on why waste water from fracking was dumped into the Manchester Ship Canal Regulation Lax as Gas Wells Tainted Water Hits Rivers 40ft-deep hole drains Stockport park lake of water Oil well safety warning for fracking Fracking risk to drinking water greater in Britain than United States, warns expert BGS maps help understand relationship between groundwater and fracking. UK's complex geology will pose fracking challenges, developers warned Study maps fracking methane risk to drinking water Water being auctioned for millions of dollars in California as drought reaches extremes Nestle's water privatization push Hundreds of Gallons of Hydraulic Fluid Spills Into Ohio River Outside New Martinsville Huge ND Wastewater Spill Prompts Calls For Fracking Regs Companies proclaim water the next oil in a rush to turn resources into profit Oil companies fracking into drinking water sources, new research shows Water stress may curtail fracking, says WRI Water shortage could hit China's fracking plans Shale Gas: How Often Do Fracked Wells Leak? Water shortages may make fracking impractical, industry says LIKE our Facebook PAGE and get news from us.
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