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The study, published Tuesday in Seismological Research Letters, reports that fracking waste injection wells are now the leading cause of earthquakes in Texas. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves thrusting chemicals and water against shale rock to break it up and release oil or gas. The process produces large amounts of waste fluid, or brine, that is either recycled or disposed of in injection wells.
That is a particular problem in regions with oil and gas exploration that are not traditionally thought of as earthquake zones, such as Oklahoma and Ohio, where scientists said fracking itself, and not wastewater injection, triggered a series of quakes last fall.