Study Raises New Concern About Earthquakes and Fracking Fluids

Filmmaker Josh Fox (C) joins a protest against fracking in California, in Los Angeles in this file photo. Large earthquakes thousands of miles away can trigger swarms of small quakes near wastewater-injection wells like those used in oil and gas recovery, scientists reported. - Reuters

CLICK HERE FOR STUDY - Science Magazine - Injection-Induced Earthquakes

reuters.com - by Sharon Begley - July 11, 2013

(Reuters) - Powerful earthquakes thousands of miles (km) away can trigger swarms of minor quakes near wastewater-injection wells like those used in oil and gas recovery, scientists reported on Thursday, sometimes followed months later by quakes big enough to destroy buildings.

The discovery, published in the journal Science by one of the world's leading seismology labs, threatens to make hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," which involves injecting fluid deep underground, even more controversial.

It comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducts a study of the effects of fracking, particularly the disposal of wastewater, which could form the basis of new regulations on oil and gas drilling.

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