Oil and Gas Wastewater Spills, Including Fracking Wastewater, Alter Microbes in West Virginia Waters

Thursday, February 23, 2017 - 00:51 in Earth & Climate

Wastewater from oil and gas operations - including fracking for shale gas - at a West Virginia site altered microbes downstream, according to a Rutgers-led study. The study, published recently in Science of the Total Environment, showed that wastewater releases, including briny water that contained petroleum and other pollutants, altered the diversity, numbers and functions of microbes. The shifts in the microbial community indicated changes in their respiration and nutrient cycling, along with signs of stress.

Read the whole article on Newswise - Scinews

More from Newswise - Scinews

Latest Science Newsletter

Get the latest and most popular science news articles of the week in your Inbox! It's free!

Check out our next project, Biology.Net