Experts claim it is safe to treble limit for tremors at Britain’s fracking sites
Seismologists say regulations are conservative and could be raised to magnitude 1.5, which would unlikely be felt
London — Britain could safely raise the limit for tremors at gas fracking sites to three times their current level, two seismologists said on Tuesday. Fracking at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site in Lancashire, northwest England was halted several times in 2018 after seismic activity exceeded limits put in place under Britain’s traffic-light regulation system. Under the system work at fracking sites must be halted for 18 hours if seismic activity of magnitude 0.5 or above is detected. Cuadrilla, the only company to have fracked for gas so far in Britain, has said the current seismic regulations are too stringent and could thwart the industry. “Existing regulations are quite conservative and are set at a level that is unlikely to be felt,” Brian Baptie, head of seismology at the British Geological Survey, said at a media briefing. He said the limit could safely be raised to magnitude 1.5 since this is a level similar to vibrations caused by a passing garbage truck, and would not pos...
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