A peer-reviewed study by Duke University researchers claims to show a link between natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale that uses horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing and an increased level of methane (natural gas) in water wells that are within 1,000 feet of the drilling. The report, titled “Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing,” was published Monday online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A full copy of the five page report is embedded below so you can read it for yourself.

Duke researchers tested 68 water wells in Pennsylvania and New York, finding elevated levels of methane in 85% of the wells.

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