Energy Environmental Blog

DOE Study on Hydraulic Fracturing

Written by Greg Russell | Jul 19, 2013 8:11:14 PM

The AP is reporting on a year-long study from NETL (the National Energy Technology Laboratory, a part of the U.S. Department of Energy's laboratory system):  "A landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process moved up to contaminate drinking water aquifers at a western Pennsylvania drilling site, the Department of Energy told The Associated Press."  More?  "After a year of monitoring, the researchers found that the chemical-laced fluids used to free gas trapped deep below the surface stayed thousands of feet below the shallower areas that supply drinking water, geologist Richard Hammack said."

Very interesting.  Read the whole thing.  (And yes, the study remains preliminary at the moment ... but it's still interesting.)