Vol.3, Issue1-March 2015 CONTENT

Hydraulic fracturing is a well-stimulation process used to improve recovery and production of oil and natural gas from unconventional petroleum deposits. Coal bed methane and gas shale are examples of unconventional petroleum deposits that require "fracking". When fracking a well, a large volume of water mixed with sand and chemicals is injected into the formation at pressures high enough to cause the rock to crack. The sand fills the fissures, creating channels that allow the gas

to escape into the pipe. Coal bed methane gas deposits do not require as much water as shale gas deposits. Because shale “fracking” requires millions of gallons of water, there is genuine concern that the environment will be adversely impacted.

Environmental water contains a variety of elements, including those related to industrial and agricultural activity and urban waste. In efforts to manage these pollutants in Asia, the United Nations University (UNU) and Shimadzu Corporation jointly established a capacity-building initiative that would provide Asian countries with the analytical scientific knowledge and technology to monitor pollutants in the environment and better implement multilateral environmental agreements like the Stockholm Convention on POPs.