EWG questions safety of 'fracking'

The Environmental Working Group released a report questioning the safety of hydraulic fracturing the night before two energy company executives are scheduled to testify before a congressional panel.

The EWG report says that natural gas companies use petroleum distillates that contain toxic chemicals in the ”fracking” process and pose a threat to water supplies. The technique is so called because drillers inject water, chemicals and sand to fracture rock formations allowing natural gas to flow to the surface.

The contention that fracking is a pollution hazard isn’t new. Environmental groups have fought for years for more federal regulation of the practice. The industry contends that state regulations are sufficient. Here’s more from the industry’s perspective. 

What the EWG report does is note the similarities between chemicals used in fracking now with diesel fuel, the use of which is more strictly regulated. EWG contends that companies are using fluids that largely have the same properties as diesel, and in fact sometimes have much higher concentrations of benzene and other toxic chemicals.

EWG also questions how well state and federal regulators are really monitoring the process. 

The report’s release comes on the eve of a House Energy and Commerce Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing of ExxonMobil ‘s planned purchase of XTO Energy, a natural gas company that does a lot of fracking. Ostensibly about the merger itself, panel Democrats are also expected to pepper Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson and XTO Founder Bob Simpson about fracking.

In his written testimony, Tillerson argues that fracking is a safe process for extracting natural gas. Here's Ben’s post about it.