[Excerpt]
Most earthquakes caused by fracking-related processes are relatively
small. But it's possible that wastewater disposal could induce larger
earthquakes: A new study
by University of Memphis geologist Stephen Horton concludes that a 5.6
quake in Oklahoma last November "was possibly triggered by fluid
injection" at nearby wastewater wells. It's not news that deep-earth
fluid injection can cause increases in seismic activity: Nearly fifty
years ago, scientists traced a series of earthquakes
near Denver to huge injections of wastewater at the Rocky Mountain
Arsenal. And scientists have long observed that the extraction of large
quantities of gas, oil, and water from the ground can affect existing
stresses in unpredictable ways.
Read more at Mother Jones.
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