Researchers have found that something they previously thought impossible is actually quite possible: briny, mineral rich fluid deep beneath natural gas fields in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale has traveled upwards thousands of feet and seeped into the water supply.  This briny water is not a waste product of fracking, but this research may affect proponents of fracking anyway.

Energy companies and other pro-drilling advocates have always stood firmly by the notion that despite the fact that they inject wastewater and chemicals deep into the earth as a byproduct of fracking, the layers of rock will make it impossible for these chemicals to travel upwards and infect our water supply.

But this new research shows that apparently this is exactly what has happened in Pennsylvania.  Of course the study is not definitive and can not say for sure that this will happen with fracking waste, it does question the safety of the process.  Nor does it address how long such a process might take.

Despite the fact that questions remain, it is a topic that should be treated with urgency, especially for those who live in areas near the Marcellus Shale and Eagle Ford Shale in Texas.

Have you been affected by hydraulic fracturing?  If you have been injured in anyway, call an attorney at Kirkendall Dwyer LLP to discuss your potential case.  Our attorneys are always ready to help.