Electricity generated from coal may release as much as 100 times more toxic chemicals as that produced from natural gas obtained through fracking, according to a study from the University of Michigan. The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, found that coal-fired power plants released about twice as many pollutants per unit energy output as natural-gas-fired plants. Even in a seemingly implausible accidental-release scenario in which all of a well’s hydraulic fracturing fluid and untreated wastewater were discharged directly into surface waters for the lifetime of the well, shale-gas electricity had a lower lifetime human toxicity impact, or HTI, than coal electricity, according to the study. However, the study did not conclude that concerns associated with shale gas production are unfounded, and emphasised the importance of continuing the move to renewables.
Electricity generated from coal may release as much as 100 times more toxic chemicals as that produced from natural gas obtained through fracking, according to a study from the University of Michigan. The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, found that coal-fired power plants released about twice as many pollutants per unit energy output as natural-gas-fired plants. However, the study did not conclude that concerns associated with shale gas production are unfounded, and emphasised the importance of continuing the move to renewables.