Drilling Fluid Contaminates Pennsylvania River, Kills Fish And Endangers Humans

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Officials from Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection are scrambling to clean up 8,000 gallons of dangerous drilling fluids that have contaminated a creek in the town of Dimrock, where a series of spills from natural gas production took place last week.  The atrocious spill has killed fish, spread to the area's surface water supply and threatens human health with a "potential carcinogen", and provides a frightening example of why we need to speed our shift to clean energy alternatives and the need for stricter regulation of the natural gas industry.

The spills unleashed a compound manufactured by Halliburton and used by Cabot Oil and Gas in the drilling process of hydraulic fracturing, and neither company has taken responsibility or made any attempts to help in the clean up process.   The incident may be the worst in a series of environmental problems associated with Cabot's drilling, which according to ProPublica includes a recent underground leak that polluted drinking water with metals and methane gas.

The cause of the latest spill has yet to be determined, although they are suspected to be the result of a supply line failure.  Clearly this spill and dozens of others that have  taken place in the wake of the state's natural gas boon, merit a thorough investigation and those responsible need to be held accountable for reckless endangerment to the environment and human health. Take Action Find out more about natural gas at NoDirtyEnergy.com