The leaflet highlights what the green group says are risks to communities across the UK, and aims to share information based on FoE’s work in Lancashire, where Cuadrilla's plans to drill and frac up to four wells to test a potentially massive shale gas resource in the Bowland Basin.

Cuadrilla claims the leaflets are misleading on the issues of toxic chemicals, groundwater contamination, and says issues at Lancashire are not necessarily applicable to other locations across the UK where it, and other explorers, want to drill and frac wells.

And it says the area pictured on the front of the leaflet doesn’t even have shale formations worth drilling.

Fraccing has now been put on hold in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland because of the concerns about risks to the environment and public health, but in the UK the Cameron government has pledged to fast-track fraccing applications, despite the fact polls seem to show public opposition against the practice is rising.

Cuadrilla is attempting to appeal its rejection by the Lancashire County Council, which refused the applications on traffic movement grounds.

Cuadrilla says FoE can't say toxic chemicals are used in fraccing, because these would not be allowed by the Environment Agency.

However, the group says the ASA ruled in 2013 that Cuadrilla could not say that "fracturing fluid does not contain hazardous or toxic components”, even if Cuadrilla itself had not used toxic chemicals to date, on the basis that these substances could be used in the future, and during drilling the well.

FoE says a US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce found more than 750 chemical products used by leading fracking companies contained more than 650 carcinogenic, hazardous or restricted substances.

It also found 279 products with elements protected by trade secrets.

The environment group has also raised concerns about the hundreds of tonnes of frac sand used by Cuadrilla at the earlier Preese Hall well site, which was linked to earth tremors in 2010.

It says the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a hazard alert that workers may be exposed to dust with high levels of respirable crystalline silica, with 79% show of workers showing silica exposures greater than the recommended level.

Cuadrilla has also complained that the group says that implies drinking water could be contaminated at Lancashire.

The green group argues that it is a risk at fraccing across the country, if not specifically at Lancashire, because the UK government has back-flipped on a promise to protect drinking water from fraccing and allow drilling through aquifers that supply drinking water, as well as in national parks.

Cuadrilla CEO Francis Egan told a conference on shale gas in the UK last week that the company is confident applications to monitor and hydraulically frac two sites at Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood will be approved next year.

Cuadrilla has also secured several new leases in Yorkshire.