Natural gas has become a leading source of alternative energy with the advent of
techniques to economically extract gas reserves from deep shale formations. Here, we
present an assessment of private well water quality in aquifers overlying the Barnett Shale
formation of North Texas. We evaluated samples from 100 private drinking water wells using
analytical chemistry techniques. Analyses revealed that arsenic, selenium, strontium and
total dissolved solids (TDS) exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's Drinking …