Fracking in Pavillion, Wyoming

            It is fair to say that water is one of the most important things in our lives. Besides air, there is not anything that a person cannot survive for at least a few days without. A person can even live without food for over a week! Scientific American posted a story by Lustgarten, Kusnetz and ProPublic about an issue that was just raised around the town of Pavillion, Wyoming. The problem is that the processes involved with “fracking” for natural gas has been linked to contaminating the water supply in underground water supplies. The Environmental Protection Agency began observing the case in 2008 and came to the conclusion that the hydrocarbons and contaminants had a correlation with the chemicals used in fracking. The case continued to 2010 where the testing results also reported that the water was becoming unsafe to drink. They also cautioned that the high levels of methane in the water were explosive! It was not until the following year after the EPA drilled in two more wells and found that they confirmed increased levels of carcinogenic chemicals. In December of 2011, the EPA connected the issue with 33 abandoned oil and gas waste pits.

The citizens of Pavillion, Wyoming had filed complaints about the water and it took four years to prove that they were right! The fracking process polluted the water that they drink, bathe, and surround their lives with. This contamination could have been the result of death among many people of the community. This issue should not be taken lightly. Every process that involves the uses of toxic chemicals should be thoroughly examined to ensure that they are not going to put any community’s lives at risk. It is very reassuring that the EPA is not taking this observation lightly. They are working to correct the problem as fast as possible and are creating new safety measures to prevent it from happening in the future.

The cement that surrounded and protected the well must be designed to be more reliant. The “sporadic bonding” that was described in the article should have been something tested and foreseen before it jeopardized lives. It is important to understand that not every problem in society is prepared for, however this issue is something that could have been avoided if the correct safety measures and testing were performed.