---
title: "Making Fracking Viable: Noise"
description: "Hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—has been stirring pots worldwide. \nEcho Barrier provides temporary noise control solutions for fracturing sites"
---

[Echo Barrier: Temporary Sound Blankets | Sound Control Barriers | Acoustic Barrier Fencing](https://blog.echobarrier.com/blog)

# [Making Fracking Viable: Noise](https://blog.echobarrier.com/blog/making-fracking-viable-noise)

 Written by [Echo Barrier](https://blog.echobarrier.com/blog/author/echo-barrier) | Nov 2, 2018 9:16:56 AM

The oil and gas well stimulation technique of hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—has been stirring pots worldwide. What has recently become a commercially viable venture has also turned into a massive source of controversy, turning citizens against corporations in a debate over a host of potential dangers, the lure of profit, and the pursuit of [American energy independence](https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonlack/2018/06/04/americas-path-to-energy-independence-the-shale-revolution/#2c9743ac7554).

There are many of points being addressed to improve the safety of fracking, particularly for residents and surrounding a site. One point of concern is that of the incessant noise that the procedure generates, often reaching hundreds of feet beyond the boundary of the site.

#### Large mammals won’t enter an area of more than 24 football fields around a fracking site because of the noise.

The radius that fracking noise reaches forms a massive void from which animals keep their distance. [One study](http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.2981/wlb.00225) published by the Nordic Board For Wildlife Research found that deer elicit an “avoidance response” to the noise, maintaining a distance of up to 650 feet from the site perimeter of the well pad (although the fracking process can be heard from thousands of feet, with measurements of [44dBA from 2,000 feet](http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2013/04/08/what-the-frack-is-that-noise/)not unheard of).

Accounting for the size of the average fracking pad of about [3.5 acres](http://www.shale-gas-information-platform.org/categories/operations/the-basics/), this void can be as large as 32.4 acres, or more than 24 football fields.

 

#### This sort of impact on the environment around fracking sites impedes its viability, and demands solutions.

 

Fracking noise originates from several sources, including:

- Well construction
- Drilling
- Site traffic
- Gas compressors

|  |
| --- |
| *Gas compression produces ongoing noise.* |

#### The good news: [fracking noise is very treatable.](https://blog.echobarrier.com/blog/how-to-stop-fracking-noise?hsLang=en-us)

Applying temporary noise mitigation minimizes the impact of this fracking byproduct. It is fundamental that the noise abatement means be highly portable so that its implementation occupies as small a period as possible in the project’s timeline, **assisting in the rapid completion of the fracking process.**

Echo Barrier is a temporary noise control system designed to attenuate noise in the workplace while being adaptable to dynamic project conditions due to its lightweight but highly absorbent composition.

 

|  |
| --- |
| *Noise mitigation on a fracking site.* |

By erecting a wall of temporary acoustic barriers, most of the noise from fracking operations can be contained within the perimeter of the site. **A screen of Echo Barriers achieves a field attenuation of 10–32dB**, and is erected in a fraction of the time of heavier alternatives.

Smaller areas of noisy activity within the fracking site are also able to be isolated with a selection of **mobile enclosure and tents.**

 

 

[View full post](https://blog.echobarrier.com/blog/making-fracking-viable-noise)

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