PITTSBURGH, Pa. — A study in Pennsylvania found high levels of methane gas in some water wells within a half-mile of gas wells, but it also found methane pollution occurring naturally far away from the natural gas drilling site, according to the Weather Channel.
Many researchers are still unsure how much, if at all, natural gas drilling is contaminating drinking water, noted the article.
The study creates a middle ground between both sides of the case who either believe the drilling technique causes widespread contamination or that cases are rare or nonexistent.
The contamination from drilling is "not an epidemic. It's a minority of cases," said Rob Jackson, a Duke University researcher and co-author of the study. But he added the team found that serious contamination from bubbly methane is "much more" prevalent in some water wells within 1 kilometer of gas drilling sites, stated the release.
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