Fracking is a means of natural gas drilling that is just as cursed as the sound of its name.
The documentary "Gasland" shows how residents exposed to hydrogen sulfide from nearby wells gradually lost their sense of taste and smell.
I recently read and commented on some of the state Department of Environmental Conservation's new fracking "regulations." One section prohibited disposing fracking wastewater on the ground for fear it might get into waterways, but said it was acceptable to pour it on roads to melt ice or keep the dust down. One scientist noted the amount of radioactive particles inhaled from a single truck traveling 40 mph on a dirt road might be insignificant, but what about the cumulative dose from trucks traveling on that road for 30 to 40 years?
What really struck me as implausible is the DEC labeling this wastewater ordinary industrial waste. Thus, this poisonous brew could be trucked to a conventional treatment facility not equipped to treat radioactive material and other contaminants (fracking fluids are full of salts, radioactive materials, heavy metals, solvents and biocides). Many of these hazardous materials would be discharged into rivers and streams. This would contaminate water supplies for downstream communities and harm aquatic life essential to recreational and commercial fisheries.
The gas industry seems to be pressuring Gov. Andrew Cuomo to finish all the studies, pass the inadequate regulations and make a decision on whether to allow them to frack our state. If we don't ban fracking, the gas industry is going to drive into the ground thousands of water-contaminating wells, create countless toxic waste pits and ruin the people's health.
Barbara Trypaluk
Saratoga Springs