Fracking facts

Those of us who are genuinely concerned about the dangers of fracking in North Carolina take offense at John Felmy’s remarks in the Oct. 28 N&O. According to Felmy, chief economist of the nation’s oil and gas lobby, we are “downright dangerous” and we “make stuff up.” Not.

We are concerned citizens with distinguished careers who have read the studies about fracking from respected government, academic and industry sources. Here is some of what we have learned:

Fracking fluids, forced underground by intense pressure, contain highly toxic chemicals that are kept secret by the “Halliburton Loophole”

There is not enough distance between North Carolina’s shale oil deposits and its groundwater table to protect our drinking water from contamination.

Fracking is associated with earthquakes. Earthquakes are a potential danger to nuclear power plants, particularly those like Shearon-Harris with large inventories of radioactive waste.

And we are not making this stuff up.

Edwin Budd

Cary