Business

Study shows how drilling wastewater causes quakes

By Seth Borenstein
Published July 3, 2014 6:29pm ET
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Study shows how drilling wastewater causes quakes
FILE - In this Nov, 6, 2011 file photo, Chad Devereaux examines bricks that fell from three sides of his in-laws home in Sparks, Okla., following two earthquakes that hit the area in less than 24 hours. A study published Thursday, July 3, 2014 by the journal Science explains how just four wells forcing massive amounts of drilling wastewater into the ground are probably causing quakes in Oklahoma. The wells seem to have triggered more than 100 small-to-medium earthquakes in the past five years, according to a study. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) | Sue Ogrocki

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study explains how just four wells forcing massive amounts of drilling wastewater into the ground are probably shaking up Oklahoma.

Those wells seem to have triggered more than 100 small-to-medium earthquakes in the past five years, according to a study published Thursday by the journal Science. Many of the quakes were much farther away from the wells than expected.

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