Study finds methane in wells near natural gas drilling

A controversial form of drilling for natural gas from shale rock appears to be contaminating groundwater wells with methane in northeastern Pennsylvania and Upstate New York, according to a Duke University study. Researchers tested 60 wells last year for methane and found that 13 of the 26 wells within a kilometer of "hydrofracking" sites had elevated methane levels, some to the point where the water could catch fire. Such levels were found in only one of the 34 wells beyond a kilometer of such drilling, according to study co-author Robert Jackson. "I was extremely surprised. We did not expect to find so many houses with high methane concentrations near gas wells," said Jackson, an environmental science professor at Duke University. "It's pretty hard to explain away."...more