Vaidyanathan, Gayathri, and ClimateWire(2016, August 29). “Fracking Can Contaminate Drinking Water.” Scientific American. N.p., n.d. 29 Aug. 2016. From http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fracking-can-contaminate-drinking-water/

 

A former EPA scientist, Dominic DiGiulio, has proved that fracking has polluted groundwater in Wyoming. In 2008, people of Wyoming complained that their water had a bad taste and smell. It was said that the groundwater had contained toxic chemicals. Later in 2013, the investigation was transferred to state regulators without publishing a final report. DiGiulio had published a study that said people’s water wells were contained with fracking wastes that are usually stored in unlined pits dug into the ground. Americans use a common technique to get oil and gas by cracking shale rock deep underground, there are thousands of wells in America that are vulnerable to that kind of threat. The author mentions that natural gas has an impact on America.

 

In 2016, the state had tested Wyoming’s peoples water wells and detected 19 concerning chemicals. EPA had said that nearly half of the chemicals are unstudied and scientist do not know the level of safety. The containment seen in Wyoming could occur in other states, fracking occurs at shallow depths, states such as California, Montana, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico could frack. Shallow hydraulic fracturing is surprisingly common in the western U.S. In California the wells are fracked shallower by 2,000 feet.