Drake University study links natural gas fracturing to methane in drinking water

A study published this week in the science journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that if you live near natural gas drilling operations you are more likely to have high concentrations of methane in your drinking water, in some cases dangerously high. The study by environmental scientists from Drake University is the first of its kind to link gas drilling with the contamination of drinking water and tested 68 water samples from drinking water wells used by home owners in New York and Pennsylvania. Professor Rob Jackson is part of a team of four environmental scientists from Drake University’s Center on Global Change who carried out this study.