Fracking

Several university-led studies that have downplayed concerns about the controversial drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing in the United States have been funded in part by drilling companies themselves, according to a report by Bloomberg.

In a move that will be closely watched elsewhere, particularly China, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the first-ever national standards to control air pollution from gas wells that are developed though hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Much of the air pollution from fracked gas wells is vented when they transition from drilling to actual production, a three- to 10-day process that is referred to as completion. During this time hundreds of tons of chemicals ranging from cancer-causing benzene, smog-forming volatile organic compounds, and climate-changing methane escape into the atmosphere.