Fearful fracking

After doing my research on fracking for a school paper, I was horrified to learn from my mother, who is on the town board, that it could happen right here in Pittsboro. To think that the people I love will be at risk to a variety of things from depletion of the senses to peripheral neuropathy is terrifying.

People in fracking towns are prone to asthma, severe headaches and dizziness. Between 1 million and 8 million gallons of water and about 40,000 gallons of chemicals are used per fracture. Only 30 percent to 50 percent of that water is reusable. The rest is put into flowback pits or evaporation sprayers. From these, the sludge either is absorbed or evaporates.

The proposed fracking site here is near Jordan Lake, which supplies drinking water to Lee, Orange, Chatham, Durham and Wake counties. Drinking water, plants and animals are exposed to these chemicals.

I may be only 15, but I know that the role of the government is to stand for the good of the people. While fracking may at first help a few, it is by no means worth inevitable long-term health and financial problems.

Elia Essen

Pittsboro