Invented in 1947, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is becoming an increasingly popular technique for oil or gas extraction. The process involves drilling a well bore thousands of feet deep and then fracturing the surrounding bedrock by using a pressurized slurry of water, sand, and chemicals. Gas, petroleum, and brine water can then be extracted from the site. Fracking can often increase the amount of oil retrieved from a single site or even extract oil from previously inaccessible sites. That is why the method of fracking is particularly suited to extracting oil from the layered Marcellus Shale reserves that run across most of Pennsylvania, particularly in the Western and Southwestern areas.

Fracking can be incredibly damaging to the environment if chemicals from the wastewater are improperly disposed of or are allowed to leak into surrounding aquifers and water wells. These environmental damages can harm both human health and business. The water in contaminated wells is no longer potable, depriving families of clean water to use for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, and growing plants. Contaminated aquifers beneath grazing land can also poison cattle, causing neurological, reproductive, and gastrointestinal problems in the livestock. The premature death and poisoning of these animals can cost a farmer tens of thousands of dollars.

Since 2005, oil and gas companies have been exempt from following federal environmental regulations that would protect drinking water and underground aquifers from contamination. Furthermore, oil companies are not required to disclose the chemicals used in their operations, allowing them to inject toxic chemicals into sensitive areas without oversight. Due to the lack of federal involvement, it is important that victims in Western Pennsylvania who want compensation and reparative action from fracking injuries turn to Pittsburgh personal injury attorneys to defend their legal rights to obtain clean and healthy living standards.

Tom Crenney & Associates represents victims of personal injury cases throughout Western Pennsylvania. Their Pittsburgh-based personal injury lawyers have handled cases involving medical malpractice, defective products, automobile accidents, premises liability, bad faith insurance claims, workers' compensation, birth injuries, wrongful death, and more. Contact Crenney & Associates for a free initial consultation regarding your personal injury claim: www.crenney.com.