Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder have said that toxic substances in fracking fluid have been found in many everyday household items, including toothpaste, detergent, and ice cream. 

Their findings, published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, prove what many people have long-thought: that contamination of water supplies may be traceable to the chemicals used in fracking. NaturalNews.Com reports:

“This is the first published paper that identifies some of the organic fracking chemicals going down the well that companies use,” says the paper’s lead author and a co-founder of the Laboratory for Environmental Mass Spectrometry in CU-Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, Michael Thurman. “We found chemicals in the samples we were running that most of us are putting down our drains at home.”

The paper, titled “Analysis of Hydraulic Fracturing Flowback and Produced Waters Using Accurate Mass: Identification of Ethoxylated Surfactants,” notes the specific surfactants found. It states, “Two series of ethylene oxide (EO) surfactants, polyethylene glycols (PEGs from EO3 to EO33) and linear alkyl ethoxylates (LAEs C-9 to C-15 with EO3-EO28), were identified in hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water . . . ” According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), ethylene oxide is present in a range of commonly-used household products ranging from detergents and antifreeze to cosmetics and spices. They also note that it’s linked to a host of problems including dizziness, spontaneous abortion, nerve damage and impaired memory.