Government Study Shows Evidence Of Fracking Contaminating Groundwater by Rob Wile, September 27, 2012, Business Insider
The EPA has confirmed a new USGS report published today supports an earlier study that groundwater near a Wyoming town may contain chemicals associated with fracking. … EPA representative Alisha Johnson said the new findings are consistent with results that agency published in December that found contamination: EPA’s analysis of samples taken from the Agency’s deep monitoring wells in the aquifer indicates detection of synthetic chemicals, like glycols and alcohols consistent with gas production and hydraulic fracturing fluids, benzene concentrations well above Safe Drinking Water Act standards and high methane levels. ….USGS wrote: several different hydrocarbon gasses, including methane, ethane, propane, and several higher molecular weight compounds, were detected in the groundwater-quality samples. Johnson also said EPA was finalizing its own results, and that both its report and USGS’ would be submitted to a third party for further analysis. Once finalized, the latest EPA data, along with the USGS data, will be submitted to an independent, expert peer review as part of the ongoing scientific process later this year. Another EPA representative said she did not know when that final study would be published.
A statement from Encana, the company who performed the drilling, said they are still looking at the data, but suggested faulty testing may have affected the findings…. [Emphasis added]