The UK government, regulators, and industry are currently exploring the potential of harvesting oil and natural gas from shale rock beds through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is commonly called. However, in order to possibly employ this methodology, tight controls would need to be employed to mitigate environmental risk. The main area of concern is the transportation of dangerous and toxic fracking fluids by lorry over roads – which poses a significant risk of chemical spills.

Read more: UK fracking industry would need strict controls to minimise spill risk