Marcellus Shale Extraction Fluids Discovered in 3 Water Samples
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Chemical compounds used to extract natural gas were found in three water samples from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region, according to a study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The contamination occurred at three Bradford County households whose owners settled a lawsuit with Chesapeake Energy Corp. in 2012 after natural gas polluted their well water. The additional chemicals may have mixed with groundwater after a pit leak from a conventional well or when nearby drilling drove them toward the aquifer, according to the study.