Letter

Fracking leads to air and water pollution

By William MacGregor  |  Nunda

It is my opinion that air emissions from the gas fracking process are a quiet but significant pollutant of our state air resources. President Bush and VP Cheney admitted that air emissions produced by fracking are a significant air pollutant when they removed these toxic pollutants from the federal pure air regulations.

There are numerous sources of toxic air releases from fracking. One being when the chemicals are pumped into the wells, half are removed in the liquid that is pumped into waste lagoons. The rest is removed when the gas comes out of the well. The EPA recently made it mandatory that the initial gas cleaning process must remove the water and chemicals but what happens during the rest of the time the well is in operation? The chemicals will be dumped into the air you breath.

How many chemicals will get into our air from the wastes stored in the waste lagoons? Will they pop out like the soda does when you open a pop bottle?

For instance fracked wastes have been used for ice control on roads and will be used for dust control on dirt roads. The chemicals in this material can evaporate and become a toxic air emission.

Reminds me of a town down south that used chemical wastes to control the dust on roads. The town is not there anymore as it had to be removed by the government..

Any chemicals dumped in the air can and will be removed from the air by their absorption into rain, snow, fog and even the dew on vegetation. If the rain lands on the ground, the plant roots will pick it up and can incorporate it into the plant material.

If the rain falls on leaves, the leaves will pick it up and bioacumulate it. Any chemicals in contaminated vegetation that are eaten by the cows will then be incorporated into the cows tissues. Any dust contaminated by the chemicals would fall out on your land.

Of course you would also breath it into your lungs. I wonder if your babies will like fracked milk or if you will like fracked steaks and hamburgers? Unfortunately you are on the top of the food chain so you ultimately will bioacumulate all the toxic poisons into your body when you eat fracked (toxic) foodstuffs.

A test a few years ago indicated that fruit and vegetables produced next to a major highway had up to 3000 parts of lead in it that came from gasoline that had lead in it. The lead in the gasoline became a emission and contaminated the vegetation.

Who will test the food produced in this state for fracking chemicals- no one Will all the food produced in the state be made unfit for human consumption by fracking? The problem with air emissions is that fracking doesn’t have to occur in your back yard, the wind will bring the chemical wastes to you where ever you are.

It is my opinion that a major fracking process by the gas companies could make this state in a hazardous waste dump. Up to now low level air pollution has been ignored but now you cant even smoke outside in public places. One man estimated that radon pollution, an air emission, will kill between 1,600 to 30,000 people in the state due to fracking. One wondesr how many will die from the rest of the chemicals dumped in our air.

Then there are toxic particulates emitted by diesel trucks. Approximately 4,000 truck trips are involved in a well production. There can be as many as 12 wells on one property. Can you imagine the amount of pollution produced by this number of trucks stopping at a stop sign in your village and waiting to clear the intersection?

This number of trucks driving past your home could become a major health hazard to you and your family. Where are all the people and agencies that blather about second hand smoke?

Are they dumb as box of rocks or have been bought off? Radon I understand is 30 times as toxic as cigarette smoke and how about the affect of the rest of the hazardous chemicals that will be released by fracking on your lungs?

The dictionary defines a terrorist roughly as someone who threatens you and your families well being. If DEC and the state issue a permit to frack, then they should be called terrorists.

They have already admitted that frac-king is dangerous by not allowing fracking near New York city or Syracuse but don’t give a dam about us lesser types in western New York. The companies that frack are also terrorists.

Plain and simple, in my opinion, they are willing and able to kill people for money. Guess we don’t have to go to Afghanistan to find a terrorist, we have our own home grown variety. Oh yes Cuomo, if the shoe fit wear it! Its unfortunate that so many have one god called money.