Residents in Gardena, California have found an unpleasant surprise when turning on their faucet. Black, gooey water seems to be invested in the water supply as the showers, taps, and toilets all run black with this nasty sludge.
The area is a victim of hydraulic shale fracturing, an industry that not only uses and wastes millions of gallons of water a year, but pollutes the environment with dangerous chemicals like arsenic, selenium, and strontium.
Disgusting cases of black water like the one in Gardena, California is not uncommon for areas around the fracturing industry. Unlucky residents are often worried about the effect of the pollutants on their health and livelihood. Recent studies have shown levels of arsenic, a poisonous chemical, of up to eighteen times more than the safe amount in drinking water around hydraulic fracturing areas.
Chemical pollutants like this can have severe negative health consequences to residents who are exposed. The Environmental Protection Agency has done studies to find high levels of arsenic in drinking water as well but have done nothing to take a stand against such polluting practices like hydraulic fracturing.
The Environmental Protection Agency has even completely abandoned some research efforts into pollution cases such as these and has failed to enforce and regulate critical laws and policies in the hydraulic fracturing industry.