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Is Fracking Safe?
(Note: companies that
could be impacted by the content of this article are listed at the base of the
story [desktop version]. This article uses third-party references to provide a
bullish, bearish, and balanced point of view; sources are listed after the
Balanced section.)
Oil and natural gas production have grown dramatically due to the introduction of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking. Fracking is a drilling technique in which water, sand, and chemicals are pumped into well holes under high levels of pressure, fracturing shale formations to increase the flow of hydrocarbons toward the well. Opponents of fracking have made claims that the procedure leads to health and ecological concerns.