Schaub 4:00
L15
THE DANGERS OF FRACKING
Stephen Anderjack (sja35@pitt.edu)
WHAT IS FRACKING
Hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as “fracking,”
has sparked many controversies in recent years due to
many side effects from various parts of the process. The
process of fracking involves water being mixed with sand
and other chemicals, some of which can be very harmful to
the environment. This water is then injected at extremely
high pressure into a wellbore, which then creates very
small cracks in the rock in which fluids such as gas,
petroleum, uranium bearing solution, and brine water can
flow more easily. After these cracks have formed, the fluid
pressure is removed and small grains of sand and iron oxide
hold the cracks open for the liquids to keep flowing
through. In spite of the extra gas, petroleum, or other fluid
that the fracking helps collect, there are many adverse
effects causing much controversy. The environmental
impact has been carefully studied, and there has been many
negative side effects toward the environment that have
been proven. This has led to a very large number of people
who are opposed to fracking. In addition to environmental
impact, fracking has also been shown to have a negative
impact on public health, which is supposed to be a main
concern of engineers according to their code of ethics. The
unethical actions of engineers and the negative impacts on
the environment and public health have convinced me that
hydraulic fracturing is not the right way to extract natural
resources and should be extremely limited if not stopped
completely.
WATER CONTAMINATION
There are countless ways in which fracking severely
harms the environment. One of the main environmental
concerns is that hydraulic fracturing contaminates water
supplies. There has been countless cases about how
fracking in the nearby area has contaminated lakes,
streams, rivers, and even people’s drinking water. There
have been over one thousand reported cases where
hydraulic fracturing has led to contaminated drinking
water. The contaminated water has been tested and high
amounts of toxic chemicals.
For example drinking water from private wells has been
found with methane levels 17 times the normal amount in
areas one kilometer from active drilling sites[1]. This
excess methane in drinking water is extremely bad for
humans to ingest, and it can lead to numerous health
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
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problems down the road. There have also been many
carcinogens such as lead, mercury, formaldehyde, and
radium found in the contaminated run off water from
fracking[2]. Eight million gallons of this water are used for
every fracking, and this water contains the large amounts
of toxic and dangerous chemicals[2]. This fracking water
is extremely dangerous to the environment and is supposed
to be recovered by the company before it is absorbed into
the environment, but only about thirty to forty percent of
the contaminated water is actually recovered[2]. This
leaves the other sixty to seventy percent of the
contaminated water to stay in the environment and further
contaminate drinking and other natural water supplies.
Besides harming humans, this contaminated water can kill
fish and other plant life that lives off the water supply. It
also harms other animals higher up in the food chain too.
For example, a fish could absorb the excess mercury in the
water, and then become contaminated. These contaminated
fish can contaminate other animals and even humans that
eat them. The contaminated water is such a prominent
problem that the EPA did several studies of it and the “EPA
said its analysis of samples taken from the two deep
monitoring wells in the aquifer indicates detection of
synthetic chemicals, like glycols and alcohols consistent
with gas production and hydraulic fracturing fluids,
benzene concentrations well above Safe Drinking Water
Act standards, and high methane levels”[3]. The engineers
that are involved with hydraulic fracturing operations
know that the water will be polluted so that it will no longer
pass the Safe Water Drinking Act standards and because of
this they are acting very unethically. This proves the fact
that fracking needs to stop, and the government needs to,
at the very least, make more laws restricting fracking, or
restricting how much waste can go into the nearby water
system. These harmful side effects of contaminated water
are a huge reason why I am a strong proponent of very
restricted hydraulic fracturing.
SEISMIC ACTIVITY
Another negative effect is an increase in earthquakes
and related seismic activity. There have been many smallscale earthquakes that have been related to fracking in the
United States, Britain, and in Canada. A great example of
this would be in Youngstown Ohio, where there have been
11 recorded earthquakes in the past two years. The town
had never experienced excessive earthquakes until D&L
Energy Inc. started drilling deep water waste wells around
Stephen Anderjack
two years ago. Most of these earthquakes are relatively
minor, but some have even registered in the upper 3’s and
low 4’s on the Reichter Scale[4]. These minor earthquakes
might not seem like a big threat, but they are still big
enough to crumble building foundations, and ruin streets.
Not only can fracking damage the natural environment, it
can also damage man made and urban environments too.
The water is not the only thing that becomes irradiated
due to fracking. The solid waste from the drill cuttings is
also very radioactive. In 2012 over one thousand alerts
were set off from the radioactive dumps where the waste is
stored. Some of these alerts were also very near residential
areas. It is clear that earthquakes near a residential area can
be extremely dangerous for the inhabitants, and this is just
another reason why fracking is dangerous and needs to be
stopped and how the engineers who are involved in the
fracking process are acting unethically.
AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution made by fracking companies is also an
extremely prominent problem. An example of this would
be when drilling for petroleum, raw natural gas is produced
and leaked into the environment. One of the most
commonly leaked gases is hydrogen sulfide. This gas is an
irritant and an asphyxiant which can be severely damaging
to the central nervous system when inhaled. In one instance
the concentration levels were as high as 1200parts per
million, which is high enough to kill or severely handicap
a human[5]. A young boy from Colorado experienced
frequent severe nosebleeds and large rashes because of the
air pollution caused by fracking near his home. Other
members of his family started experiencing these
symptoms too, and their family was forced to move[1].
This was not an isolated incident, and various other
problems just like this one happen all over the world where
fracking is present, especially in places lacking pipelines
or other gas transportation methods. In fact around fifty
thousand of the earth’s inhabitants have been forced to
abandon their homes because of the toxic gases caused by
nearby hydraulic fracturing[5]. This is very unethical
because people should not be forced to abandon their
homes and change their lives just so oil companies can save
some money. These gases not only are bad for living things
to inhale, but they also damage our atmosphere and ozone.
All of these negative effects are caused by just the air
pollution caused by fracking.
FRACKING AND ETHICS
With all of the problems associated with fracking
it is clear that it is an extremely unethical practice. A clear
example of this would be in the following scenario. A large
oil company wants to hydraulically fracture some wells in
rural Pennsylvania, so they go door to door offering to give
substantial amounts of money to the families that agree to
let the company practice fracking on their land. They do
not however inform the families about all of the risks and
negative side effects of hydraulic fracturing, so some of the
less informed families agree to let these big companies use
their land. The companies then proceed to hydraulically
fracture the wells using their harsh and dangerous
chemicals. At first there is no noticeable side effects except
for a strange metallic taste coming from the family’s water
supply. The family then continues to use their water supply
just as they used to. Then after a few weeks children and
elderly members of the family start to show symptoms of
the contamination. These symptoms can be anywhere from
constant nosebleeds, to severe rashes that cover most of the
body. Another week or so the rest of the adult member will
start experiencing these symptoms too[7]. The harmful side
effects do not all show up at first too. They could show up
years later, and the oil companies know this. In one
instance an oil company paid a family 750000 dollars in
order to eliminate any responsibility from medical issues
that came from fracking on their land[8]. They do this to
prevent being sued for harming the health of the residents,
and to avoid paying for the victims medical bills which
could be as high as close to a million dollars. These health
complications have been so severe that 13 people have died
as a direct result of hydraulic fracturing on or near their
land. This is not tolerable or ethical in any sense and there
is no possible way that fracking should be allowed to
continue as it is. Human lives and health is much more
important than any amount of oil, no matter how easy is is
to extract from the earth. These are the ways that big oil
companies exploit people who are not informed and
ignorant of the many dangers of fracking.
RADIATION
Not only does the process of hydraulic fracturing put
harmful chemicals into the surrounding environment, it
also adds extremely harmful radiation. A recent study in
2012 found that the water that flows back from wells that
have been hydraulically fractured have very high levels of
radium, which is a radioactive element. A recent EPA
study also stated that, “The radiation is picked up by water
used to hydraulically fracture the deep, 380 million-yearold shale layer and release the natural gas it holds”[6]. This
radiated water has been known to cause sickness or even
death to the fish and other wildlife that rely on the radiated
water.
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Stephen Anderjack
Knowing that fracking harms these people and
continuing to do so breaks many of the canons in the NSPE
Code of Ethics for Engineers. In fact the very first canon of
the NSPE code states “Engineers, in the fulfillment of their
professional duties, shall: Hold paramount the safety,
health, and welfare of the public[9].” This is obviously of
paramount importance and the engineers in big oil
companies break it often when they help engineer fracking
equipment and setups. They have to realize that they are
not only harming our environment, but also the people and
animals that are living around the area. The code is
something that all engineers should be abiding and those
who aren’t should be reprimanded in my opinion.
fracturing can also cause air pollution which can make
nearby inhabitants very sick, and to top it all off fracking
leads to radiation, which can contaminate areas and make
those areas unsafe for decades. Continuing fracking in
these areas inhabited by humans and animals is also
extremely unethical and should not be tolerated. These
reasons show how the negative side effects of hydraulic
fracturing strongly outweigh the benefits, and also show
why I believe fracking is extremely unethical and should
be strongly regulated by the government if not stopped all
together.
Another canon from the NSPE Code of Ethics for
Engineers that is commonly broken by engineers in
involved in hydraulic fracturing operations is that
“Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties,
shall: … Avoid deceptive acts[9].” Paying people to let big
companies drill on their private property without telling
them about the many health risk definitely beaks this
cannon. This infraction is especially heinous because it is
very deceitful, and it betrays the trust that the public places
in engineers in general. The engineers involved in fracking
should take a look at what how what they are doing affects
the people around them.
[1] R. McDermit-Levy. (June 2013). “Fracking, the
Enviroment, and Health.” American Journal of Nursing.
(Online Article).
http://rt4rf9qn2y.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z3
9.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_
fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.at
itle=Fracking%2C+the+Environment%2C+and+Health&r
ft.jtitle=The+American+Journal+of+Nursing&rft.au=Rut
h+McDermottLevy&rft.au=Nina+Kaktins&rft.au=Barbara+Sattler&rft.
date=2013-0601&rft.pub=Lippincott+Williams+%26+Wilkins&rft.issn
=0002-936X&rft.eissn=15387488&rft.volume=113&rft.issue=6&rft.spage=45&rft.ext
ernalDocID=2998642671&paramdict=en-US
[2] L. Dong. (2013). “Dangers of Fracking.” (Website).
http://www.dangersoffracking.com/
[3] J. Magil Author. (Janruary 5 2012). “EPA Links
Water Contamination to Fracking.” (Online Article)
http://rt4rf9qn2y.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z3
9.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_
fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.at
itle=EPA+links+water+contamination+to+fracking&rft.jti
tle=Platt%27s+Oilgram+News&rft.au=Magill%2C+Jim&
rft.date=2011-12-09&rft.pub=The+McGrawHill+Companies%2C+Inc&rft.issn=01631284&rft.volume=89&rft.issue=243&rft.spage=8&rft.ext
ernalDBID=n%2Fa&rft.externalDocID=277397133&para
mdict=en-US
[4] (Feb 2012). “Fracking Triggers Earthquakes.”
Acendemic Onefile. (Online Article).
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&id=GA
LE%7CA282581301&v=2.1&u=upitt_main&it=r&p=AO
NE&sw=w&authCount=1
[5] J. Efstathiou. (Aug 13, 2013). “North Dakota Oil
Boom Seen Adding Costs To Rail Saftey.” Bloomberg
REFERENCES
Chemical engineers in particular have another very
specific code of ethics, called the AlChE Code of Ethics,
that they have to follow also. Hydraulic fracturing breaks
rules on this code of ethics also. For example one rule is”
Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public
and protect the environment in performance of their
professional duties[10].” The chemical engineers that are
involved in the fracking process are obviously violating
this code. They are putting dangerous chemicals into local
water systems and into people’s drinking water. In addition
to this, the air pollution that fracking causes also harms
animals and humans alike. The infraction in the AlChE
code, in addition to all the other infractions in the NSPE
Code of Ethics for engineers, illustrate why fracking is
such an immoral and harmful process that needs to be
eliminated or extremely regulated by the government.
WHY FRACKING NEEDS TO STOP
In conclusion, the process of hydraulic fracturing is
extremely dangerous for a variety of reasons. Its excess
fracking water runs into the nearby water systems, which
harms everything nearby, including people and animals.
The force from the pressurized water can also trigger small
earthquakes and other harmful seismic activity. In addition
to the seismic activity and water pollution, hydraulic
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Stephen Anderjack
News. (Online Article).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-13/northdakota-oil-boom-seen-adding-costs-for-rail-safety.html
[6] D. Hopey. (March 1, 2011). “Radiation in Fracking
Fluid, a New Concern.” Pittsburgh Poste Gazette. (Online
Article).
http://rt4rf9qn2y.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z3
9.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_
fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.at
itle=RADIATION+IN+FRACKING+FLUID+A+NEW+
CONCERN&rft.jtitle=Pittsburgh+Post++Gazette&rft.au=Don+Hopey&rft.au=Daniel+Malloy&rft
.date=2011-03-01&rft.pub=Pittsburgh+Post++Gazette&rft.issn=1068624X&rft.spage=A.1&rft.externalDocID=2279000131&p
aramdict=en-US
[7] C. Mooney. (2011). “The Truth about Fracking.”
Scientific American. (Online article).
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a
ph&AN=66913750&site=ehost-live. p. 80-85.
[8] S. Kelly (2011). “The Trouble with Fracking.”
National Wildlife (World Edition). (Online article).
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a
ph&AN=75497912&site=ehost-live. p. 49(6), 16-17.
[9] (2012) "NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers.” NSPE.
(Online Document).
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html.
[10] Code of Ethics." AIChE. American Institute of
Chemical Engineers, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
I would like to thank Slobodan Males and Matt Fulponi
for helping me edit my essay. I would also like to thank
Paul Gatto for supporting me and helping me along the
way. Last but not least I would like to thank Pat
Duedenhoeffer for constructive criticism.
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