Fracking for shale oil and gas has not led to widespread pollution of drinking water, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency draft report said on Thursday, although it warned some drilling activities could potentially cause health risks.
The study, requested by Congress and five years in the making, said fracking could contaminate drinking water under certain conditions, such as when fluids used in the process leaked into the water table.
The EPA said it found isolated cases of water contamination, but “the number of identified cases … was small compared to the number of hydraulically fractured wells.
“We did not find evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States,” the study said.
TVNL Comment: What the hell is a 'widespread' risk? The report clearly says that fracking could contaminate drinking water. That should be the headline everywhere ....but it isn't.