Past Paper 2016 Section 1

Chemicals used  

Fracking fluid consists of water mixed with chemicals such as benzene that is pumped 

underground to frack wells. Although in percentage terms chemicals are a small component 

of fracking fluid, the total volume of chemicals used is immense. According to the oil and gas 

industry, 99.2% (by volume) of fracking fluid is water and the other 0.8% is a mix of 

chemicals. These can enter drinking water supplies from the well, or in the wastewater 

disposal process.  

Global warming (GW) pollution released  

Completion of fracking wells from 2005 to 2012 produced global warming pollution equal to 

the CO

2

 emissions from 28 coal-fired power plants in a year. 

Variation 

Both water consumption and pollution levels varied sharply from state to state.  

Table: Fracking states (ordered by quantity of water used)