Another Concern Arises Over Groundwater Contamination From Frackingselfnews Post Scientists are reporting that when spilled or deliberately applied to land, waste fluids from fracking are likely picking up tiny particles in the soil that attract heavy metals and other chemicals with possible health implications for people and animals. Tammo S. Steenhuis and colleagues note that fracking, which involves injecting huge volumes of fluids underground to release gas and oil, has led to an energy boom in the U.S. But it has also ignited controversy for many reasons. One in particular involves flowback, which refers to fluids that surge back out of the fracked wells during the process. It contains water, lubricants, solvents and other substances from the original fracking fluid or extracted from the shale formation. High-profile spills and in some places, legal application of these liquids to land, have raised alarms. Research has linked fracking to groundwater contamination that could have major health effects. But another factor that no one has really addressed could play a role: colloids. These tiny pieces of minerals, clay and other particles are a concern because they attract heavy metals and other environmental toxins, and have been linked to groundwater contamination. Steenhuis team set out to take a closer look. This indicates that infiltration of flowback fluid could turn soils into an additional source of groundwater contaminants such as heavy metals, radionuclides and microbial pathogens, the scientists conclude. More research with real soils is planned. The authors acknowledge funding from HATCH funding of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, the Chinese Scholarship Council, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the worlds largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. Source: 