¿Qué es el fracking? - Colorado Rising For Communities

¿Qué es el fracking?

Limpiando la tierra

1

Bulldozers come in and clear the land next to homes, mowing down trees and wildlife.

A single well pad requires roughly one acre of land. State regulations have historically allowed fracking operations to take place as close as 500ft from homes.

2

The rig goes up, as trucks drive in and out of the site.

Each fracked well requires thousands of truck trips to carry water, sand, and chemicals; these are the proprietary (or secret) ingredients that make up fracking fluid.

Agua y Perforación

3

Dozens of metal shipping crates pop up along the edges of the well pad.

A single well can require between 1.5-16 million gallons of water per frack. Water can come from municipal sources, reservoirs, rivers, or lakes. Many of the chemicals used in the fracking process are known carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.

4

Well bore is drilled down through underground layers, and water table. Well bore eventually turns horizontal, then goes back up; steel casing and cement are placed into the bore hole.

A well bore is drilled between 1-2 miles below the surface, then turned horizontally to reach tiny bubbles of gas trapped within the rock. A steel pipe and cement casing are inserted in an attempt to prevent water and soil contamination.

Fluido, gas y aguas residuales de fracking

5

Fracking fluid is injected into the well at extremely high pressure allowing the gas bubbles to escape.

Fracking begins by blasting the mixture of water, sand and chemicals into the shale layer. 5% of steel and concrete casings fail immediately posing a grave danger to drinking water resources. Over a fifty year period, 100% of well casings will eventually crack and corrode allowing leftover chemicals to seep into the soil and water sources.

8

Gas flaring; brown cloud forming around site.

Gas is often vented or flared at the site. Roughly 95% of natural gas is made up of methane; Methane is 86x more potent than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere making it a main contributor to our warming climate. Volatile Organic Compounds are also emitted throughout the fracking process, adding to ozone pollution and poor air quality.

6

Gas bubbles and some of the water return to the surface.

Roughly 80% of the fracking fluid remains underground, while the remainder is brought to the surface for disposal. The fracking process can also release and bring naturally-occurring radioactive material to the surface.

7

Open pit appears and wastewater is pumped into it, trucks haul wastewater to underground deep injection sites.

Wastewater laced with toxic chemicals and possible radioactive material are often left in open storage pits where chemicals become concentrated and disperse into the air. Waste is also disposed of in underground injection wells. See earthquake risks here.