Most Americans want the country to be free of its dependence on foreign fuel. But what many might not know is that using homegrown oil and natural gas may come at a high cost.
There are close to 1 million oil and gas wells across 33 states in the U.S. New ones are being drilled at a rapid rate—more than 40,000 last year alone.
Extracting oil and gas is known to release toxic chemicals, including mercury, benzene and arsenic, and harmful chemicals are routinely injected underground to boost output. However, such wells are exempt from the parts of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Air Act that would control these substances.“Loopholes were written because of the industry’s influence in Washington,” says Amy Mall of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), who co-authored a new report on the subject. “These decisions ignored the best available science.” Well operators also are not required to file an annual toxic-release inventory, a list of chemicals emitted.
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