human
I've heard there are a lot of fracking operations in my area. What are they?
assistant
Fracking is the process of drilling into the earth and then injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure to fracture shale rock formations and release natural gas or oil. It’s controversial because it involves pumping a large amount of water underground, which can cause earthquakes. There have been reports of groundwater contamination from the process as well.