A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that methane and other gases can contaminate drinking-water wells near natural gas drilling, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

The study found that water wells in northeastern Pennsylvania within a kilometer of fracking wells had methane concentrations six times greater, on average, than wells farther away.

Read it:

“The study suggested that the methane and other gases associated with fossil fuels ended up in well water because of faulty metal casings inside a well that allow gas to seep out as it travels to the surface. Alternatively, the leaks could be linked to faulty cement jobs that are supposed to keep gas and water from moving in the space between the well casings and the rock.”

Methane gas does occur naturally in aquifers, but the chemical composition of methane near the drilling sites is the same as the gas extracted in the area.

• The United States Environmental Protection Agency is currently studying the possible threat fracking poses to drinking water, but the study isn’t expected to be finished until 2016. 

» Via: The Columbus Dispatch › Fracking can pollute well water, study finds