Frac sand linked to lung disease in workers The chronic silicosis caused by silica exposure poses unique dangers for employees working at frac sand mining sites. Inside the lungs, exposure to the tiny particles has been shown to sometimes lead to serious lung diseases like silicosis and lung cancer.

A review of chemicals released into air and water by fracking has identified 55 that may cause cancer, including 20 that have been shown to increase the risk of leukemia and lymphoma.

Oil and gas operations, such as hydraulic fracturing, also release numerous toxic air contaminants: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene; fine particulate matter (PM2.

The study concluded that people living within almost a half-mile radius of a fracking well have an increased risk of feeling the effects of chemical exposure though headaches, nausea, dizziness, nosebleeds and respiratory trouble, according to The Denver Post.

Replace fresh water with recycled water or brine: Besides using water-less fracking system, recycled water and brine also works perfectly in fracking system. Using recycled water and brine conserves freshwater as well as reduces the water pollution caused by traditional fracking systems.

Fracking is exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act pollution control measures unless diesel is used in the fracking process. Oil and gas operations are exempt from important permitting and pollution control requirements of the Clean Water Act, including the stormwater runoff permit requirement.

Since the natural gas boom began in 2000, U.S. regulation of fracking has largely been left to state governments, the result of both lax enforcement and the industry’s resistance to even basic federal oversight.

A new bill introduced in the California state senate on Wednesday would ban all fracking near schools and homes by 1 January 2022 and in the entire state by 2027. California has been a leader in combating the climate crisis, with a law in place requiring the state use 100% renewable energy by 2045.