There has been some publicity in recent times about the prospects of finding commercial deposits of shale gas in Ireland. These hydrocarbon deposits, in fine-grained sedimentary rock, have been hailed in the USA as a major new source of fossil fuel and they have been extracted in growing quantities over the past few years there. The method of extraction involves fracturing or cracking the rock deep underground to release the gas for extraction and this process is commonly known as fracking.
The fracking is achieved using a combination of chemicals and water and this raises an immediate environmental concern as the chemicals are pumped underground and cannot be contained. There have already been several accidents in the USA from leaks and spillages and methane gas has migrated up from the shale deposits to pollute groundwater and create a risk of explosion at the surface. Several examples of tap water being ignited can be found on the Internet.
Two recent developments concerning fracking in Europe are relevant and worthy of consideration. The first is a statement from Karl Falkenberg, Head of the EU Environment Directorate, which stated that none of the chemicals used in this process are registered under the EU regulations on the safe use of dangerous chemicals (REACH). The methods of extracting this shale gas must be solidly assessed according to Mr Falkenberg and the chemicals used must be known and approved prior to use. In the USA shale gas extractors do not have to reveal the chemicals that they use in the fracking process.
The second important development in Europe is a report presented last week to the European Parliament on the impacts of shale gas and shale oil extraction on the environment and human health. The bottom line of this report states that it is not worth extracting shale gas in Europe given the environmental risks and damage done by hydraulic fracturing. Essentially the report finds that the downsides outweigh the potential benefits of the EU's limited shale gas reserves.
There are several strong findings and recommendations in the report including that there are major gaps in the regulation of this industry, thresholds for environmental impact assessments are set too high and consideration should be given for a new EU directive to cover all aspects of this industry because of the complex nature of the risks to the environment and to human health. The report was compiled by the consultancy firm LBST and the Wuppertal Institute and can be found at:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/envi/dv/shale_gas_pe464_425_final_/shale_gas_pe464_425_final_en.pdf
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