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Fracking

A bit of History

The modern oil and gas industry - and one could say modern society itself - was catalyzed by a series of events that took place in the mid-19th century. In the early 1850s, Samuel Kier began refining crude oil from natural seeps into kerosene, offering it as a cheaper alternative to whale oil for lighting. While Kier's refining innovation laid the groundwork for the petroleum industry, there was still no efficient way to extract large quantities of oil to fuel the growing demand for kerosene. This changed in 1859, when Edwin Drake successfully drilled the first commercial oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania. Drake’s method, inspired by salt drilling, unlocked vast underground reserves of oil, making large-scale extraction possible.

 

 

The serendipitous timing of these advancements—Kier’s refinement and Drake’s drilling—both occurring in western Pennsylvania within a few years of each other, transformed society. Together, they fueled the rise of the industrial era, providing a new, abundant energy source that rapidly replaced traditional fuels.

However, despite being seen then—and still today—as a triumphant moment of human progress, this moment in history also marks the beginning of a relentless global dependency on fossil fuels. This dependency has had enormous and nearly immeasurable consequences for the environment, human health, geopolitical conflict, and perhaps even the future survivability of our species. The extraction and consumption of fossil fuels have not only driven climate change but have also fueled wars, deepened global inequalities, and placed humanity on a precarious path as we grapple with the long-term sustainability of our planet.

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The 20th Century

As the oil industry expanded, figures like John D. Rockefeller seized the opportunity to dominate the market. By the late 19th century, Standard Oil controlled nearly all aspects of the industry—from refining to transportation—amassing immense power and wealth. Rockefeller's cutthroat tactics crushed competition and exploited workers, all while consolidating control over the nation’s energy supply. The extent of this monopoly was exposed by Ida Tarbell, an investigative journalist whose groundbreaking 19-part exposé revealed the unethical practices of Standard Oil. Her work not only brought the company’s shady operations to light but also contributed to its breakup by the Supreme Court in 1911 under the Sherman Antitrust Act. However, even after its dissolution, the companies that emerged—such as ExxonMobil and Chevron—continue to wield significant influence today, raising concerns about environmental impacts and market practices reminiscent of those that Ida Tarbell exposed. From massive lobbying efforts to environmental degradation, these companies have faced ongoing scrutiny for actions that echo the monopolistic and harmful behaviors of the past.

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Left; John D. Rockefeller built Standard Oil into a powerful monopoly, controlling much of the oil industry. His ruthless tactics exploited workers and communities, leaving a legacy that still impacts the environment today.

Right; Ida Tarbell exposed the corrupt practices of Standard Oil through her groundbreaking journalism. Her work led to the company’s breakup and set a precedent for holding powerful corporations accountable.

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By the mid-20th century, concerns over dwindling U.S. oil reserves led the industry to adopt hydraulic fracturing (fracking), developed in the 1940s to extract oil and natural gas from previously inaccessible shale formations. While it wasn’t until the early 2000s that fracking surged due to the vast reserves in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and Ohio, its environmental costs have been profound. Though it has boosted U.S. natural gas production, fracking has caused groundwater contamination, increased methane emissions, and seismic activity, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities.

As fracking became the industry’s answer to dwindling oil reserves, it ushered in a new era of hidden risks and long-term costs. Beyond the surface-level promises of energy independence, the process leaves communities and ecosystems exposed to toxic chemicals and radioactive materials, often seeping into water supplies and soil. These dangers are not always apparent, and the workers on the frontlines of fracking operations are often the most unwittingly exposed to its harmful effects—facing daily contact with hazardous substances, with little protection or awareness of the long-term health risks. The legacy of the oil and gas industry, from its early monopolies to modern extraction methods, continues to prioritize profit over the safety of people and the planet.

What is Fracking? 

"If conventional oil drilling is like sticking a straw into a coconut to extract oil, unconventional drilling—or fracking—is like smashing the coconut open and flushing out the oil with high-pressure water. It’s a far more aggressive method that fractures the rock, releasing oil and gas but at a steep environmental cost."

​​Hydraulic fracturing - also known as fracking - is a method used to extract natural gas and oil from deep underground shale formations. The process involves drilling a well and injecting a high-pressure mixture of water, sand, and chemicals to create fractures in the rock, allowing trapped gas or oil to flow to the surface. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown:

Step One

Acquire Land

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"You gotta hurry, everyone around you is signing up"

The first step in the fracking process isn’t drilling—it’s acquiring land. Land agents, often referred to as land men or land sharks, are employed by energy companies to negotiate leases with property owners. These agents frequently target rural landowners, many of whom are elderly or financially struggling, using high-pressure tactics to secure the lease. While the industry claims they are simply leasing from those who happen to live above shale formations, the reality is that these communities often lack access to legal advice or awareness of the long-term implications of the contracts they are signing.

The initial leasing contracts often obscure crucial details, leaving landowners unaware of the true risks involved. In addition to post production fees that reduce royalties, property owners are frequently not informed about the potential for water contamination, exposure to radioactive materials, or the release of toxic chemicals during the fracking process. Fracking can unleash dangerous substances like benzene and radium, which can migrate into groundwater and pose serious health risks to both landowners and local communities.

Moreover, landowners often face unforeseen costs after signing. These include hefty tax liabilities on lease payments and royalties, and they may be left responsible for decommissioning wells once the fracking operation is complete. This includes the cleanup of contaminated land, the removal of equipment, and other remediation costs that are not covered by the energy companies. In many cases, landowners find themselves financially and legally liable for long-term damage to their property, without the financial rewards they were promised

This predatory leasing process frequently leaves landowners facing enormous environmental and financial burdens long after the energy companies have moved on, turning the promise of financial gain into a costly and dangerous gamble.

One last important facet of step 1 is unitization or "Forced Pulling". Because fracking is largely about the lateral extraction of natural gas, it typically requires multiple land owners to sign leases for a single well because while they drill on one parcel, they are actually pulling gas from multiple adjoining properties.

 

State regulating bodies come up with a unitization policy which determines what constitutes a "unit" and what percentage of that unit has to sign before a forced pull can occur. So lets say your state has a 65% unitization policy. That means that if 65% or more of the land owners in your unit sign a lease with a gas company your land could be forced into the lease whether you want to be or not. Its essentially 

Step Two

Drilling

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"this rig will be in and out before you know it—hardly any disruption at all!"

Once the land is leased, the next phase—drilling—begins, which can drastically disrupt the daily life of those nearby. The first step is constructing the drill pad, a large cleared area to support the drilling rig and its associated equipment like storage tanks and pipelines. This process brings with it an influx of heavy machinery and truck traffic, quickly transforming a quiet rural landscape into an industrial site. Bright lights illuminate the area 24/7, creating light pollution that can make it feel like daytime all night long, while the noise of the drilling equipment and constant flow of trucks makes sleep and quiet moments hard to come by for those living up close.

Technically, the drilling itself involves two stages:

  1. Vertical Drilling: A well is drilled vertically deep into the earth, passing through groundwater layers, with steel casing and cement to protect against contamination.

  2. Horizontal Drilling: Once the well reaches the shale layer, the drilling shifts to horizontal drilling, allowing the well to extend laterally for thousands of feet through the shale, maximizing access to the trapped gas or oil.

During this time, companies continuously deliver trucks full of water, sand, and chemicals necessary for the fracking process. For residents, this stage is not just about the noise or lights from the drilling rig—it’s the traffic, dust, and environmental disturbance caused by all the ancillary equipment. Roads in small rural communities, often not designed for this level of industrial activity, can quickly become damaged, leading to additional strain on the local infrastructure.

Fracking, overall, is a relatively low labor-intensive industry. However, the drilling phase requires the highest concentration of workers, many of whom are transient and come from out-of-state. Studies have shown that this influx of temporary labor can lead to a significant increase in certain types of crime, particularly in rural communities that aren't equipped to handle a sudden population spike. This can be especially concerning for residents - particularly the elderly or those with young children - who live in areas where first responders may not be readily available. Combined with the constant light, noise, and environmental contamination from fracking operations, these factors can contribute to constant stress and have a serious impact on mental health in affected communities.

"Don’t worry, this rig will be in and out before you know it—hardly any disruption at all!"


While companies may say this, the truth is that drilling can take weeks or even months, and the aftermath of this phase can linger. The process is far from quick and easy, especially for those who have to live with the long-term effects on their homes and communities.

Step Three

Fracking

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"It's only water"

After drilling, the next phase in the fracking process is hydraulic fracturing, which uses millions of gallons of water to unlock oil and gas trapped deep within shale formations. The sheer volume of water needed is staggering—often between 2 and 16 million gallons per well—and much of it is drawn from local water sources, including municipal reservoirs meant for drinking water. This means that fracking companies can siphon off clean water from public resources, even during periods of drought. Local communities, who depend on these supplies for agriculture and daily use, are often left scrambling to secure access to safe water as fracking operations take priority.

But it’s not just the water usage that raises concerns—it’s what happens to that water afterward. The injected water, mixed with chemicals, sand, and other additives, fractures the shale, releasing trapped oil and gas. However, this process also unlocks harmful substances deep within the earth, including heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury, along with radioactive materials like radium and uranium. These hazardous substances mix with the produced water—the naturally occurring water in shale formations that gets pulled up along with oil and gas—which returns to the surface.

The result is millions of gallons of contaminated produced water, laden with carcinogens and toxic chemicals, which must be managed and disposed of. While some of it is stored in brine tanks or open pits, these containment methods pose significant risks of leaks and spills, threatening nearby water supplies and ecosystems. Even small leaks can contaminate soil and groundwater, potentially rendering local water supplies unsafe for decades.

Then there's the issue of air pollution. As gas is extracted, excess natural gas is often flared off, emitting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and methane into the atmosphere. These pollutants can cause serious health issues, including respiratory problems and increased cancer risks for nearby residents. The release of VOCs and methane also contributes to climate change, amplifying the long-term environmental costs of the fracking process.

That’s the common reassurance, but the reality is far more complex and dangerous. The water used in fracking doesn’t simply disappear—it comes back toxic, laced with carcinogens and heavy metals, and poses long-term risks to both human health and the environment.

Step Four

Waste

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"Don't worry, its just water, we will take care of it"

One of the most critical and dangerous stages of the fracking process is the management of wastewater, commonly referred to as "brine." This brine is a combination of two types of water:

  1. Flowback: This is the proprietary concoction of water, sand, and chemicals that the fracking industry uses to create fractures in the bedrock. After the fracking process, 40% or more of this fluid returns to the surface, now potentially carrying contaminants from both the chemicals used and the substances it encounters underground.

  2. Produced Water: This is the ancient water that has been trapped in the shale formation for millions of years. When fracking releases natural gas or oil, this water comes up with it. Produced water can contain a variety of harmful elements such as heavy metals, radioactive materials (like radium), and other naturally occurring substances that are toxic to humans and the environment.

Once the brine mixture (which includes flowback and produced water) returns to the surface, it is first separated from the extracted oil or gas. This separation typically occurs at the wellhead, where the hydrocarbons are diverted for processing, and the wastewater is then directed into large storage tanks or open-air ponds near the well site. These tanks or ponds are intended to store the brine temporarily until it can be picked up by brine trucks and transported for "disposal". However, both storage and transport present significant risks, as leaks, spills, or even accidents during transportation can result in harmful contamination of the surrounding environment.

The industry often employs clever language to minimize the perceived risks of fracking, using analogies and comparisons that sound harmless but overlook the true scale of the dangers. For example, they might say, "The radioactivity in this water is no greater than that in a banana," which distracts from the real issue. While technically accurate in small-scale comparisons, this kind of statement downplays the cumulative risks involved in handling millions of gallons of brine.

The true danger lies not in the small traces of radioactivity or chemicals but in their massive accumulation over time. The language used by industry also aims to confuse types of radioactivity, which the general public is likely to not understand—beta radiation (like that found in bananas) is far more benign, whereas the alpha radiation found in fracking waste is significantly more dangerous when inhaled or ingested, as it can cause severe internal damage.

These rhetorical tricks serve to reassure the public while obscuring the full scope of the environmental and health hazards. Whether it's downplaying the chemicals used, the long-term impacts, or the sheer volume of wastewater, the industry’s messaging often seeks to oversimplify complex risks to make them appear benign, shifting focus away from the larger dangers posed by scale, accumulation, and mismanagement.

The waste stream of the oil and gas industry is perhaps the most misunderstood and overlooked aspect of fracking, both by the general public and by policymakers. Despite the magnitude of its impact, many remain unaware of the significant risks posed by this stage of the process. Below is a detailed list of the main concerns that people must familiarize themselves with when it comes to fracking waste:

Step Five

Orphans

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"Out of sight, out of mind"

Unlike conventional oil wells, which can produce for decades, fracking wells are typically short-lived. If they produce at all, it is mostly in the first few months, after which production begins to taper off rapidly. This makes fracking wells financially volatile, often changing hands multiple times due to the high cost of initial investment and the fluctuating price of oil and gas.

The company that initially drills the well bears the largest financial burden, so it operates the well during its peak production period to recoup costs and profit. But once profits diminish, the well is often sold to smaller companies with fewer financial commitments. This process can happen three, four, five times, or more, with each new owner operating with less oversight and fewer obligations. Eventually, a fly-by-night company may take over, extracting whatever remains before abandoning the well.

For landowners, this is a nightmare scenario. The contracts signed with the original drilling company are often watered down, ignored, or outright breached by successive owners. Attempts to contact these companies can be futile, as some wells are eventually managed by corporate entities like hedge funds, which offer little to no customer support. Landowners are often left with no recourse other than costly and time-consuming lawsuits, which many cannot afford.

Ultimately, far too many of these wells are simply abandoned. The last company will file for bankruptcy or just walk away, leaving the landowner and the community with a toxic legacy. In Pennsylvania alone, there are an estimated 750,000 abandoned oil and gas wells, many of them fracking wells. These are the “orphans”—wells left behind despite promises that they would be properly reclaimed.

The fracking industry initially promised that the land would be returned to its original state, with wells being properly capped and the surrounding environment reclaimed. However, these promises are rarely fulfilled, and the burden of reclaiming orphan wells often falls to taxpayers, who foot the bill for capping and remediation efforts.

The environmental and health risks of orphan wells are severe. When left uncapped, these wells can continue to leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas, along with toxic chemicals and radioactive materials that can seep into groundwater or nearby injection wells. They also pose physical dangers—many old wells are forgotten, only to be rediscovered when animals or children fall into them.

This is the carcass of the fracking industry: an industry that sells itself on the ideals of energy independence—despite much of the gas being used for plastic production or exported abroad; one that wraps itself in the imagery of the independent oilman—despite the majority of workers being underpaid, mistreated, and often from out of state.

And all of this for what? We are told fracking is an economic engine, yet studies show that while the industry generates immense wealth for executives and investors, it has done little to improve the economic conditions of the communities that bear the worst environmental impacts.

OHIO VALLEY ALLIES

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