I read the piece, “‘Fracking’ wastewater that is treated for drinking downstream produces potentially harmful compounds” dated 9/24/2014 on Science Daily. The piece rested on the assumption that a common practice for dealing with fracking’s highly radioactive and heavy in metals and halides waste water was to purify it and release it into rivers. The main conclusion of this article was that even after being initially purified, should the water be purified for drinking purposes down the road, the typical method of purifying could lead to the formation of toxic byproducts. The author cites a study from the American Chemical Society. The study took samples of waste waste from fracking operations, diluted it with river water, and then used drinking water disinfection methods on it. The result was the formation of toxic compounds. It was further concluded that either fracking waste-water should not be released into rivers or drinking purification should include halide-removal techniques.

The author didn’t seem biased at all. Overall, this was just reporting on one study. No further evidence was offered. The study itself should be further looked at. The American Chemical Society could very well be a special interest group against fracking entirely. That said, off of only a single study, not much can be firmly concluded. Multiple studies really should be run to get a fuller picture of what’s going on.

Link to article:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140924113521.htm