Schlumberger employees work during an oil fracking process in Vaca Muerta in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina, September 20, 2013.
(Photo: Anibal Adrian Greco / The New York Times)
By Santiago Navarro F. and Renata Bessi, Truthout
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Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking - a method whereby hydrocarbons trapped within rocks are extracted - is expanding rapidly in Latin America. Fracking emits benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene, which are considered by the World Health Organization to be carcinogenic and responsible for blood disorders and other immunological effects. Despite these adverse health effects, however, reserves have already been mapped out in Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
Fracking produces large volumes of toxic and radioactive waste and dangerous air pollutants. |
