UK Government Chief Scientific Advisor Slams Fracking

The Cameron government’s "dash for (shale) gas" has suffered a blow at the hands of its own Chief Scientist.

In the Annual Report of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Sir Mark Walport warns that the government has not given proper consideration to the potential risks of the process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking" used in shale gas extraction.

Sir Walport states that fracking process could have negative impacts on health and the environment for decades to come and that it carries potential risks on a par with those from thalidomide, tobacco and asbestos.

“History presents plenty of examples of innovation trajectories that later proved to be problematic — for instance involving asbestos, benzene, thalidomide, dioxins, lead in petrol, tobacco, many pesticides, mercury, chlorine and endocrine-disrupting compounds...” says the report released on Friday

“In all these and many other cases, delayed recognition of adverse effects incurred not only serious environmental or health impacts, but massive expense and reductions in competitiveness for firms and economies persisting in the wrong path.”

Earlier this month, a report by the respected UK Energy Research Centre indicated that the government had "overhyped" the potential of potential of the UK shale gas industry.

Read the Annual Report of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser HERE