By: Charlie Cooper, 10/31/2013
Fracking involves drilling down into the earth and blasting water, sand and chemicals into shale rock to release the gas inside. The British Geological Survey estimates there could be 1,300 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the north of England and with pressure on the UK’s energy supply becoming ever greater, the Government is keen to begin capitalising on it.
However, the extraction technique, which is already used on a commercial scale in a number of countries including the USA, has raised a number of health and environmental concerns. Gas company Cuadrilla halted operations in 2011 after fracking was blamed for earth tremors in Blackpool, but a government review later concluded fracking was safe if properly monitored.
For more on this story visit http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/fracking-is-safe-says-governments-own-health-body-8916189.html
