Coming to a Field Near You?

Lately there have been various activities on the Cortland campus dealing with natural gas drilling and fracking, including a screening of Gas Land. I have been unable to attend any such talk, screening, gathering, or the like, since my night classes are always in conflict with these activities. It is immensely frustrating. However, providence may have been to blame when, just the other day, I literally stumbled across some highly relevant literature dealing with the fracking issue. An issue of The Peace Newsletter, fromSyracuse's Peace Council, published in June (only five months ago), was laying out on a table. The headline: Gas Drilling: Coming to a Field Near You? So I scooped it up and ran off to read.

I was really excited to find that several of the articles included in the publication discussed the actual chemicals used in the fracking process, information that I haven't come across much online.

Some "chemicals and compounds of concern" (from "The Hazards of Chemicals Used in Hydrofracking" by Tom Shelley):

Benzene and related hydrocarbons: These hydrocarbons are "known carcinogens," which can damage the liver, nervous system, and various organs; can damage fetuses; and may cause genetic mutations.

Formaldehyde: Carcinogen and severe skin and eye irritant.

1,4-Dioxane: Damages nervous system, liver, and kidneys.

Heavy Metals

2-Butoxyethanol: Affects nervous system, may damage liver, lungs, and kidneys, known to be an endocrine disruptor, suspected to be a carcinogen.

The gas companies claim that the concentrations of all chemicals are too low to have any affects, while critics and mathematicians claim that the concentrations are indeed high enough to affect local populations.



Another interesting tidbit (from "How NY Can Force You to Allow Gas Drilling Under Your Property" by Mike Bernhard):

Just as the title says, NY can force landowners to allow gas drilling on their property, even if they refuse to sign a lease. All that a gas company needs is 60% of the land in a given area to be signed over to their company. After they have 60% of the land under their control, they have the right to "draw up lines" that may or may not go through your own property. If so, they have the right to frack things up for you. "Integrated landowners have no power to specify environmental protections, protect their property values, prevent the storage of commercial gases or the injection of used fracking fluids under their homes, nor prevent storage-associated access to pipeline easements taken by eminent domain."