{"id":37090,"date":"2016-05-03T07:29:21","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T11:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=37090"},"modified":"2016-05-03T07:29:21","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T11:29:21","slug":"texass-toxic-rivers-fracking-chemicals-seep-into-waterways-after-floods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=37090","title":{"rendered":"Texas\u2019s Toxic Rivers: Fracking Chemicals Seep Into Waterways After Floods"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more-->Sputnik International<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"b-article__lead\">The floods Texas has experienced recently have inundated oil wells and fracking sites resulting in the flushing of oil and fracking chemicals into local rivers.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"b-article__text\">\n<div class=\"b-inject m-inject-min\">\n<div class=\"b-inject__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" title=\"Fracking drill rig\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn2.img.sputniknews.com\/images\/101563\/37\/1015633763.jpg\" alt=\"Fracking drill rig\" width=\"705\" height=\"375\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"b-inject__copy\">\u00a9 East News\/ Science Photo Library<\/div>\n<div class=\"b-inject__content\"><a href=\"http:\/\/sputniknews.com\/us\/20160331\/1037236159\/fracking-linked-toxic-groundwater.html\">New Research: \u2018People at Risk\u2019 Due to Fracking and Toxic Groundwater<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Emergency management officials in\u00a0Texas have mobilized the Civil Air Patrol to\u00a0photograph possible oil spills and leaks around\u00a0the flood regions where a catastrophe could be in\u00a0the making. Many environmentalists and residents have expressed concern that recent floods have deluged fracking sites, spreading oil and the chemicals used to\u00a0turn shale into\u00a0oil and is now depositing them into\u00a0waterways and even possibly drinking water.Texas is the home to\u00a0America\u2019s petroleum industry where companies engage in\u00a0shale fracturing\u00a0\u2014 more commonly referred to\u00a0as \u201cfracking\u201d\u00a0\u2014 seen by\u00a0many ecologists as\u00a0destructive to\u00a0the environment, mostly for\u00a0the industry\u2019s use of\u00a0harsh chemicals.<\/p>\n<p>Photos show oil-sheen as\u00a0well as\u00a0plumes flowing from\u00a0tipped tanks and fracking sites that were inundated with\u00a0rainwater during\u00a0March\u2019s flooding of\u00a0the Sabine River.<\/p>\n<div class=\"b-inject m-inject-min\">\n<div class=\"b-inject__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" title=\"Hydraulic fracking site\" src=\"http:\/\/cdn1.img.sputniknews.com\/images\/102213\/05\/1022130527.jpg\" alt=\"Hydraulic fracking site\" width=\"705\" height=\"375\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"b-inject__copy\"><a href=\"http:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/peCBtc\"> \u00a9 Flickr\/ phxlaw1<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"b-inject__content\"><a href=\"http:\/\/sputniknews.com\/us\/20160406\/1037590779\/us-fracking-wastewater.html\">Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals Found Near West Virginia Fracking Well<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a potential disaster,\u201d Dr. Walter Tsou, a former president of\u00a0the American Public Health Association, told the El Paso Times. \u201cCattle that drank the fracking fluid actually died an hour after\u00a0drinking it. There are potential carcinogens that can lead to\u00a0leukemia, brain cancer and other endocrine disruptors that can affect premature births.\u201dCritics are additionally concerned that the state\u2019s commission will continue to\u00a0fail to\u00a0hold oil and gas companies responsible for\u00a0such incidents given that commissioners receive more than\u00a0half of\u00a0their campaign contributions from\u00a0that industry.<\/p>\n<p>Todd Staples, president of\u00a0the Texas Oil and Gas Association, dismissed the concerns<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOil and natural gas companies utilize the latest technologies to\u00a0establish and maintain safe operations in\u00a0any weather condition,\u201d Staples told the El Paso Times. \u201c Operators who do not comply with\u00a0regulations or remediation directives should face enforcement and can lose their permit to\u00a0operate in\u00a0Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/sputniknews.com\/us\/20160501\/1038926953\/texas-toxic-rivers-fracking-chemicals-intowaterways-after-floods.html#ixzz47aicTlqF\">http:\/\/sputniknews.com\/us\/20160501\/1038926953\/texas-toxic-rivers-fracking-chemicals-intowaterways-after-floods.html#ixzz47aicTlqF<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37090\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}