The gas industry counters that fracking takes place too far below aquifers for contamination to take place, and that chemicals compose, by volume, less than 1 percent of fracking fluids, which are mostly water and sand.
However, the report concludes that gas contamination should not be a problem - the risk is "very low" - provided that fracking takes place at a depth of many hundreds of metres, a long way below the level of aquifers, and that the wells are properly constructed.
Tory peer Lord Howell of Guildford - who apologised last year after saying that fracking should take place in the North East because it was "desolate" - recently spoke about the issue again, and said the Conservative Party could lose votes by pursuing plans to frack.
Add the lack of infrastructure to carry the gas and increased dissent from local and environmental groups, and it's not difficult to conclude that fracking will not take off in any meaningful sense for a decade or more.
Illinois, as the Pennsylvania residents note, is not alone in taking the fracking leap.
Froggatt says the potential for shale gas to price Russian gas out of the market relies on prices staying at the same relative levels for the decade or more it will take for fracking to begin in earnest.
OO Group Sues Feds Over Keystone XL's Impact on Endangered Fox OO Rural Illinois County To Take Fracking Debate To The Ballot Box ☼☼☼ BRIGHT IDEAS ☼☼☼.
But energy and climate change minister Amber Rudd told MPs on Wednesday: "In the case of AONBs and national parks, given their size and dispersion, it might not be practical to guarantee that fracking will not take place under them in all cases without unduly constraining the industry".
Moreover, community activists are convinced that the company intends to use fracking during the explorations, and that fracking has probably already taken place.
But the green lobby isn't taking fracking lying down.
