The water-intensive gasoline extraction know-how, identified internationally as fracking, has been banned in a number of European international locations however continues to be utilized in Hungary.
On December 1, activists from Greenpeace Hungary positioned a 23-meter-long “Stop fracking” signal on a drilling platform within the Nyékpuszta gasoline area. They additionally warned that local weather change means the manufacturing and use of pure gasoline should be stopped as quickly as attainable and known as the street to the platform “the street of the local weather disaster”.
What precisely is “fracking” know-how?
“They drilled a number of kilometers into the bottom, into the rock, after which they proceed to drill perpendicularly, after which they drill sideways, and into this gap they push the fracking fluid, which is usually water and sand, however incorporates acids and biocides that forestall the expansion of algae and expertise exhibits that there isn’t a assure that these won’t escape into the setting,” explains Gergely Simon, regional chemical substances skilled at Greenpeace Hungary.
Experience exhibits that in lots of international locations these substances, together with the carcinogen benzene, have been present in close by aquifers and will even be dispersed into the air: it’s no coincidence that the method has already been banned in a number of European international locations.
Germany, France, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Bulgaria have banned it or imposed a moratorium. In Hungary, nonetheless, it’s nonetheless used, for instance within the Corvinus undertaking in Nyékpuszta.
Greenpeace carried out measurements with thermal imaging cameras within the space and likewise displayed a number of devices that measure air air pollution. The validity of their findings is disputed by the gasoline dealer involved.
“Of course we reported the air pollution to the authorities and MVM reacted by attempting to refute our newest measurements, saying that there are different accredited measurement strategies,” mentioned Gergely Simon.
“Obviously we, Greenpeace, have the power to place passive measuring gadgets on web site. We left them there for 13 days and located that benzene was virtually double the every day restrict in 13 days in a single place, however it additionally exceeded it in one other So if we exceeded the restrict by sooner or later in 13 days, we have been assured to exceed the restrict by a day or extra,” he added.
Greenpeace Hungary calls on the Hungarian authorities to provide rather more help to renewable power as a substitute of climate-damaging applied sciences.
