Blog

Oil and natural gas prospecting has continued at unprecedented speed due to the country’s rising demand as well as its reluctance to rely on outside sources for its energy needs. States such as Texas lead the way, with just about every square mile in certain areas replete with oil pumps and fracking projects. While oil and natural gas are an indispensible in our modern lives, their extraction has been known to be fraught with danger especially when it comes to the health of individuals living near fracking sites. This is because of the numerous toxic chemicals used in the fracking process that makes environmental contamination a reality for these population who often fall sick with severe illnesses and even cancers due to fracking.

Did you develop health complications due to excessive and unreasonable fracking in your region? The oil and refineries industry uses toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury, methanol, formaldehyde, uranium and benzene to facilitate the fracking process, all of which have been known to have toxic or caricinogenic effects on the human body. If you fell sick as a result of fracking activities in your region, you may be eligible for compensation if you file a fracking lawsuit. Please contact our experienced environmental contamination attorneys at (773) 309-6249 to learn more about your legal options for compensation. We take on all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay anything for the duration of your case and only pay legal fees once we recover money damages on your behalf. The call is FREE, and there’s no legal obligation. Serving fracking victims COUNTRYWIDE.

Fracking refers to the process of prospecting for gas or oil by injecting chemicals under ground layers in order to liquefy the stone and sand so that it is much easier to drill for these substances. Fracking can take over a month after which the shale rock will be pumped with water in order to release the gas or oil. What makes fracking work are the high pressures with which this chemical soup is injected into the ground.

What makes fracking so environmentally dangerous is the fact that the chemicals contained in the fracking mixture almost always seep into the groundwater or water table, thereby poisoning the water and affecting those that drink it.

Here are the environmental consequences of fracking:

• Air pollution
• Poisoning of the water table
• The production of toxic waster
• The mass deaths of wild animals
• Increased risk of explosions in fracking regions
• Increased risk of earthquakes in fracking regions

Fracking Risks Hidden From The Public

Companies that engage in fracking often go into lease agreements with property owners in order to frack at their property. However, what’s disturbing is that these companies do not disclose the negative effects of their activities, nor are they legally obligated to do so. Nevertheless, environmental regulators and investigators are informed about these dangers or risks, which they turn a blind eye to due to the massive profits as well as the popularity of fracking in states such as Texas and North Dakota.

Fracking and the Poisoning of Ground Water

Fracking also causes natural gas to leak into ground water, making it likely that methane buildup will cause an explosion under people’s houses. Methane is highly flammable, and a family member unsuspectingly lighting a cigarette in the toilet or outside the yard as they water the grass may lead to an explosion with catastrophic health consequences. In addition, the release of these chemicals into ground water can lead to an increase in neurological conditions such as autism and epilepsy in such communities who may not be able to connect the dots due to the hush hush manner in which fracking information is regulated by industry players.

Long-Term Effects of Fracking

The health hazards associated with fracking are complex and far-reaching. Individuals living near fracking sites often complain of  headaches, dizziness, nausea, severe migraines, cognitive issues, vomiting and difficulty breathing. In addition, they may not be able to sleep well, and the inhalation of silica-impregnated dust near and around fracking sites can make these individuals develop emphysema and COPD, and the constant noise, explosions and commotion near fracking sites can lead to sustained high stress levels that can lower an individual’s immunity and expose them to a multitude of illnesses.

On the socioeconomic side, fracking can change a community in the following ways:

• It may decrease the area’s property values.
• It may make affordable housing hard to find in the area
• It may lead to increased crime
• The stress levels associated with living near fracking regions can increase drug and alcohol consumption

Fracking Regulations Laid Down

The Obama administration listened to the pleas of environmental stakeholders and instituted some regulations in the fracking industry. For instance, the government put in place safety standards that regulate how fracking chemicals are stored on-site, and asks that companies involved in fracking provide extensive information on the geology of their wells and fracking site to BLM. Regulations also require fracking companies let the public have access to information on the types of chemicals they use, as well as acquiesce to government inspection of their sites, especially as it relates to concrete barriers that are used to line wells.

Compassionate Fracking Lawsuit Attorneys – Call Us Today!

If you’ve been affected by fracking in any manner, whether it’s through poor health, the economic damages associated with the activity, had your property value decrease, or suffered stress and mental anguish due to the noise and pollution in your area, you may be able to recover compensation via the filing of a fracking lawsuit. Our attorneys have dealt with large corporations in the past, and we currently have an intake process for class action lawsuits and mass tort cases that we’d love to invite you to be a part of. Please contact the fracking lawsuit attorneys at McCready Law TODAY – (773) 309-6249 to learn more about your legal options. Your first call is on us, and there’s absolutely no legal obligation, so you have nothing to lose and a free case review to gain. Thanks, and we look forward to helping you.