By: Kirsten Korosec
BNET Energy Blog

Legislation introduced this week that targets hydraulic fracturing -- a technique used to access vast new fields for drilling - is pitting the oil and gas industry against environmentalists in a debate over public health, federal versus state regulation and the protection of industry trade secrets.

The concern is that underground water could be contaminated during hydraulic fracturing or fracking. In the process, drillers pump millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals and sand under high pressure into horizontal wells. The pressure cracks shale deposits and releases the gas. Most of the mixture is removed, although some remains. The mix is then put into open pits for evaporation and eventually trucked to a disposal site. The exact chemical mixture is considered a trade secret, although many including benzene are considered highly toxic.

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