The demand of energy in the world has grown significantly in the last few decades. This has made countries with these precious resources to do all that they can to harness them in an effort to meet the growing demand. However, other countries that previously had been importing energy have discovered natural gas and oil reserves that they are hurrying to explore. Large reserves of natural gas have been discovered in North and South America, Europe and China. According to figures from the US Energy Information Administration, this has seen an increase of 40% of the available natural gas worldwide. Exploration and consequent mining are done as the suppliers can sometimes delay in shipping this important commodity resulting in a crisis. This could be brought by political unrest and wars in the respective countries. The mining is done using a method known as fracturing or fracking. The use of this method has generated a lot of concern because of the negative environmental consequences. The big question remains; should the method continue being used to mine natural gas?
Fracking or hydraulic fracturing involves drilling a vertical hole then horizontal tunnels in the shale rocks trapping the gas. Improved technology in the drilling industry has seen the use of ‘L’ shaped tunnels. Through these tunnels, chemicals, water and sand are pumped at very high pressure. The sand holds the fractures created open allowing the gas to flow to the open horizontal pipes. The gas is tapped and transported to the surface for processing. The use of chemicals and the probable gas leaks from the well are the cause of environmental concerns. Various mining companies use a number of chemicals some of which are harmful. The US House of Representatives committee on energy undertook a survey in the years 2005-2009 to identify chemicals used by oil and gas companies. They found that more than 750 chemicals were in use by 14 companies. Among these chemicals was citric and salt that are harmless but lead and benzene are extremely toxic.
As the mining of natural gas continues to take shape, reports indicate that potentially hazardous chemicals were in use in the mining areas. The major challenge was to control the chemicals from leaking into drinking water leading to widespread water poisoning. The mining process is also a target of environmental activists. They claim that in the mining of natural gas, poisonous gases can find their way to the water aquifers. The aquifers are natural underground storage that provides clean water to people. In case an aquifer is found near the shale bedrock that contains natural gas, proper environment assessment needs to be done to avoid risks of contamination. Under the US legal structure, companies are allowed to keep secrets of the chemicals they use in order to gain a competitive edge. These chemicals may not have been thoroughly studied and are not available to the environmental and other regulatory bodies for examination. The use of such chemicals can have negative impacts on the environment.
A study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) indicated that there were no major cases of safety reported over the last decade. This is positive news despite the fact that there are over 20,000 wells drilled. The report calls for continued vigilance in the sector as one accident can mess the good record set in the industry. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) indicates that the future is likely to see the integration of evaluation and monitoring techniques. This will be done at federal and state levels to enhance operations. Experts point to the fact that the lack of major accidents of water contamination has been as a result of the regulations set by the environment body.
Hydraulic fracturing of fracking is a natural gas mining method that has a number of side effects on the environment. Continuous monitoring and evaluation of the process helps ensure that the mining is done with minimum risks to people and the environment. This has been seen from the few reported cases of accidents and the great effort put by the companies in this sector.
References
Heywood, P. (2012). Fracking Safer And Greener? The Chemical Engineer, 42-45.
