UK orders immediate fracking freeze after tremor
The United Kingdom has suddenly ordered a total freeze on all fracking operations there, the controversial technique of extracting natural gas, on public safety grounds after a series of tremors.
It would signal a major shift in policy for Boris Johnson's Conservative government.
Its Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom told BBC radio that the moratorium would stay in place for the foreseeable future until scientists can say with full certainty that fracking can be done safely.
Fracking is a hydraulic method of extracting gas from the Earth. It splits apart shale using sand, water, or chemicals at high pressures.
But it's also been linked to earthquakes and fear of toxic contamination in soil and water supplies worldwide, particularly in the United States.
Most recently in August a 2.9 magnitude tremor that shook homes in northern England was suspected to be caused by fracking.
Previously the country placed a seven year hiatus on the practice after two prior tremors. It was lifted only last year.
Johnson's government had supported the domestic fracking industry as a way to cut the country's reliance on foreign energy imports.
Environmentalists are praising the new stance, which comes just weeks before a national election.
