Gov. John Kasich has made a point of trying to remove regulations that he says slows down business. Regulations exist to protect people, the environment, and to keep people honest. Kasich has promoted the idea of drilling in our state parks, even though a majority of Ohioans are against it.
Now, with Chesapeake Energy buying up land all over Ohio, some people have dismissed the danger that comes with this type of drilling.
The Intelligencer:
...As Chesapeake continues drilling and fracking more wells in Ohio and Brooke counties, the driller is joining other firms to reveal more information about breaking the rock deep within the earth to release Marcellus Shale natural gas. Recently, company Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon announced Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake's participation in www.fracfocus.org, a website providing information on fracking chemicals, solutions and procedures....
.....some of the 85 fracking chemicals listed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protections are xylene, toluene and tetramethylammonium chloride - chemicals that can lead, with prolonged exposure, to liver damage in humans and can even be fatal.
Some residents remain concerned that fracking can lead to groundwater contamination, but industry leaders note there have been no confirmed cases of this.
An accident last night has put a lot of people on edge in Pennsylvania-----
A blowout at a natural gas well in rural northern Pennsylvania spilled thousands of gallons of chemical-laced water on Wednesday, contaminating a stream and forcing the evacuation of seven families who live nearby as crews struggled to stop the gusher.
The Chesapeake Energy Corporation lost control of the well site near Canton, in Bradford County, around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, officials said. Tainted water continued to flow Wednesday afternoon, though workers finally managed to prevent any more of it from reaching the stream....
...Chesapeake said a piece of equipment failed late Tuesday while the well was being hydraulically fractured, or fracked. In the fracking process, millions of gallons of water, along with chemical additives and sand, are injected at high pressure down the well bore to break up the shale and release the gas.....
I wonder if the executives of Chesapeake Energy are willing to drink the water to prove it is safe.