Scott Perry

$Sediment from a stream bed containing fracking wastewater (jars on the left) developed orange residues after 90 days; sediment from a clean stream bed (jar on the right) did not.$

As fracking booms, waste spills rise — and so do arsenic levels in groundwater

November 16, 2014Environment

Wastewater created by fracking contains many toxic elements and chemicals that can contaminate groundwater. The good news? Microbes in the soil feast on the metals and help clean up the spill. The bad news? This process can release high levels of arsenic into the groundwater.