“This is serious stuff. There will be trouble, and Shell and the
other companies involved must take note,” University of the Free State professor
Gerrit van Tonder told the Cape Times.
Last July he had told Karoo farmers they need not fear water
pollution from fracking, but his stance had changed since completing his latest
research.
He was “100 percent certain” that underground water in the Karoo
basin flowed upwards, and that there were a vast number of natural “pathways”
along which water could flow upwards.
As a result water could carry a toxic cocktail of chemicals used
in fracking up to freshwater aquifers nearer the surface.
Combined with a number of artificial pathways created by fracking
boreholes, polluted water would have devastating consequences for farmers, he
said.
Fracking involves pumping a mixture of water, sand and chemicals
at high pressure down a borehole into the rock strata containing the shale gas.
The process releases the gas, which flows out of the borehole to the surface,
where it is captured.
On Thursday, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said concerns about
fracking, to extract shale gas reserves, needed to be overcome through research
and technology.
“We cannot allow a blessing to lie fallow… If shale gas is one
of the blessings, we are going to go for it,” Peters said.
It was essential, however, that the process was not rushed. The
technology involved in fracking was established in other countries, such as
Australia and the United States, and similar to that used in processing gold.
She said means of extracting the shale gas safely would benefit the Karoo’s
inhabitants.
Click here to Book Accommodation in Cradock, Graaf Reinett, Hofmeyer or surrounds.
Article source: http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/2012/06/01/karoo-fracking-could-cause-water-disaster