HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

Justin Ours Josh Koert Kelsey Haynes

WHAT IS HYDRAULIC FRACTURING (FRACKING)?

Shale is fine grained sedimentary rock that is a rich

source of petroleum and natural gas. Fracking is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

HORIZONTAL FRACKING

HOW DOES IT WORK?

VERTICAL FRACKING

HOW COMMON IS FRACKING IN OUR AREA?

WHY IS HYDRAULIC FRACTURING USED?

Being that natural gas is a non-renewable resource, it

is being utilized at an exponential rate. Almost every other method of obtaining natural gas has been exhausted which is making fracturing more and more common. Fracking has been used in cases where certain geological formations restrict the flow in areas highly concentrated in natural gas.

HEALTH EFFECTS OF FRACKING

Some common chemicals known to cause some

serious health problems are benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. Benzene is a highly flammable compound and is known to cause cancer and other health issues relating to the central nervous system. Toluene is used to create benzene and is used as a solvent similar to the constructs of paint thinner it is highly toxic.

HEALTH EFFECTS OF FRACKING(CONT.)

CNS(central nervous system) is the primary target organ-system for

toluene toxicity in both humans and animals for acute and chronic exposures.
Cardiac arrhythmia is a side-effect, and ingestion can cause death in

humans.

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF FRACKING

There are risks of contaminating rivers and streams containing safe

drinking water.
Surface and groundwater pollution Air pollution Soil contamination Habitat fragmentation Erosion from extracting gas from shale

dangersoffracking.com