Institution responds to Lancashire Council's recommendations on shale gas exploration

The Institution's Dr Jenifer Baxter says that much more work needs to be done to convince the public about the benefits and safety of hydraulic fracking.

Dr Jenifer Baxter, Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said:

“While Lancashire Council has recommended allowing Cuadrilla to start exploration for shale gas at one of its sites, the final decisions on these sites will not be made until next week when Lancashire County Council meet to discuss the two applications.

"The sites, if approved, will be closely monitored by both the Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive to ensure environmental impact assessments are carried out and appropriate well depth and integrity is maintained.

“The fact that thousands of objections have been lodged about the plans shows that there is a lot more work that needs to be done by engineering institutions, oil and gas companies and experts in the subject to convince the public that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of rock for shale gas extraction is safe. If local authorities and communities are to make informed decisions on whether to allow fracking to take place in their locality they need to understand all the issues and have an opportunity to discuss them sensibly.”