The study, which was conducted by the US Geological Survey and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, studied water samples and the bodies of the exposed fish to determine the effects of fracking chemicals on their health.<\/p>\n
The study was based on a fracking fluid spill that occurred at the Acorn Fork Creek in southeastern Kentucky in the mid-2007. Nami Resources Company, an oil and gas exploration company, spilled the fluids into the creek, which killed nearly all aquatic life in direct exposure to the substances.<\/p>\n
Narrow stream flows were contaminated with hydrochloric acid and other chemicals used for fracking. Water supplies were polluted and numerous species of fish suffered \u201ca significant die-off,\u201d<\/em> the USGS announced on Wednesday. The fluids killed significant numbers of Blackside dace, a threatened species of ray-finned fish endemic to Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The Creek chub and the Green sunfish also experienced a die-off.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The green sunfish (Image from flickr.com user@meowmixx1980)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Surviving fish exposed to the chemicals developed gill lesions and suffered from liver and spleen damage, the study found. These symptoms mirror those experienced by fish exposed to acidic water and toxic concentrations of heavy metals, the USGS reports.<\/p>\n The fracturing fluids dropped the creek\u2019s pH levels from 7.5 to 5.6 and increased stream conductivity from 200 to 35,000 microsiemens per centimeter.<\/p>\n The report\u2019s authors note that it is important to examine the effects of fracking fluids on fish to determine how it might affect people. Tierra Curry, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a press release that the Kentucky spill demonstrates \u201cthe growing threat that fracking poses to endangered species, public health and drinking water supplies across much of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese species use the same water as we do, so it is just as important to keep our waters clean for people and for wildlife,\u201d<\/em> co-author Tony Velasco said. \u201cThis is an example of how the smallest creatures can act as a canary in a coal mine.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Across the Appalachian Mountains, numerous waterways are already polluted with metals and acid from coal mine operations, and more than 20 studies have linked public health problems to this contamination, the Center for Biological Diversity reports. Curry believes that fracking will only add more harmful chemicals to the water supply, potentially endangering Americans who live near hydraulic fracturing sites.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"http:\/\/rt.com\/files\/news\/20\/44\/e0\/00\/7560206248_1dbf3812a9_h.jpg\")
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