(EnergyAsia, September 12 2012, Wednesday) — Australian science agency CSIRO has issued a statement rejecting the claim made in a television commercial that ‘CSIRO [and government studies] have shown that groundwater is safe with coal seam gas.”

CSIRO said that it has never made such a statement nor do the results of its research support such claims.

The advertisement produced by Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) was aired on the country’s television networks early this month.

In calling APPEA not to continue broadcasting the advertisement, CSIRO said it has publicly stated that coal seam gas extraction is likely to pose a “low risk” to groundwater quality through contamination, and that groundwater levels will fall as a consequence of coal seam gas extraction.

“In some places this could see aquifer levels subside by tens of metres for tens of years; in others it is likely to reduce aquifer levels by several metres for several hundred years,” said CSIRO, which is continuing research to better understand the impacts of coal seam gas extraction on groundwater quality and quantity.