Are US Fracking Spills Getting Worse?

Fracking is controversial to say the least. The oil and gas extraction process, which involves drilling into the earth and pumping fluid at the rock beneath, has been deemed unsafe by a number of countries.

Generally put in place because of a lack of research, these bans are also a way to guard against the spills associated with fracking. But just how bad have the spills become in countries where fracking is allowed?

From protested to commonplace

In the UK, fracking has been the most controversial energy topic over the past few years. Despite the current government’s unflagging support, it is still only at the exploratory stage – much to the delight of the UK public who, by and large, disagree with it.

On the other hand, fracking has been commonplace in the United States for many years. It has grown steadily since 2000, when it represented less than 2 percent of US oil production, now making up around half of America’s oil sources. The downside? US oil spills are getting worse.

Facing the facts

New research, appearing in the Environmental Science & Technology journal, suggests that as much as 16 percent of fracking wells spill every year. Across the four analysed states – Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania – this amounted to over 6,600 reported spills in the last decade.

From those spills, a massive 67 percent were in North Dakota, where 53 percent occurred at sites with previous spills on record. The study also revealed that half the spills recorded were related to storage and pipelines, though the exact cause could not be determined.

Rising numbers

This isn’t the first time fracking spills have been monitored in the states. An EPA study revealed that 457 spills occurred across eight states between 2006-2012. Already, we can see that the number of spills has increased significantly despite the new study covering fewer states.

The findings aren’t completely parallel though. "The EPA just looked at spills from the hydraulic fracturing process itself which is just a few days to a few weeks," explained Dr Lauren Patterson, the study’s lead author.

Dealing with oil spills

When it comes to oil spills, the loss of resources is only the tip of the iceberg. They can cause a number of problems to water supplies and natural habitats as well as being extremely difficult to remove, as discussed ‘How to Deal with Oils When Treating Contaminated Construction Dewatering Water’.