By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-881200.mp3
Dallas, TX –
The natural gas industry is responding to a new study that claims drinking water could be endangered because of toxic chemicals, including benzene, injected into the ground at drilling sites.
Ed Ireland, with the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council, says the industry is not regulated by the federal Clean Water Act, and does not have to detail what chemicals are used with water and sand in "hydraulic fracturing". But he says the process is safe.
Ireland: Over a million wells have been fractured in the United States, and there's never been any documented case of contamination of water supplies as a result.
The study by the Environmental Working Group, out of Washington DC, calls for federal regulation of the process called "fracking".
Esther McElfish, with the North Central Texas Communities Alliance, agrees with that, and full disclosure of all chemicals used. Email BJ Austin