Study finds fracking can cause earthquakes
Posted Mar 29, 2016 10:33 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
EDMONTON – New research suggests that hydraulic fracking of oil and gas wells is behind earthquakes caused by humans in Western Canada.
The study, published today by a group of top Canadian researchers, suggests problems in Alberta and British Columbia aren’t caused by injecting waste water underground.
The scientists used complex statistical analysis to pin the blame on fracking, which pumps fluids at high pressure underground to fracture rock to release the oil and gas it holds.
They concluded that only a tiny fraction of fracked wells cause earthquakes.
But co-author David Eaton of the University of Calgary says there are enough of those wells drilled every year to be a public safety concern.
