UK Support for Fracking Shows Negative Results for 1st Time in History - Poll

The support of hydraulic fracturing activities in the United Kingdom has bottomed, as their overall support in the country is negative for the first time in history, a poll revealed Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the survey conducted by the University of Nottingham, the support of fracking in the United Kingdom is currently at the historically low level, as only 37.3 percent of the Britons back it, while 41 percent oppose the practice.

The poll added that the number of people, who associated fracking with water contamination, had reached 49 percent of respondents, which was also the highest result in the history of the social research.

The university has been holding its survey on a regular basis since March 2012 and it's comparative results show that support for the shale gas extraction has significantly decreased from its peak in July 2013, when fracking was backed by more than 58 percent of respondents.

The poll was conducted on September 29 — October 3 with 4,492 people questioned.

Fracking, which is also called hydraulic fracturing, is a technique that allows to extract shale gas and oil by injecting pressurized toxic liquid into the ground. The technology has been repeatedly criticized by its opponents, who claim that it poses a number of threats, such as water contamination and even earthquakes.