Chapple called for a ban on fraccing after news broke that Santos was fined $1500 over the contamination of an aquifer near its Pilliga project in New South Wales, where uranium levels were found to be 20 times Australia's recommended levels.

"The contamination of groundwater from Santos' fraccing operation in northwestern New South Wales has set warning bells ringing throughout Australia, and the government will ignore this at its peril" Chapple said.

"No amount of income from the gas that is extracted using the risky practice of fraccing is worth the hazard threat to human health and the environment.

"Risks from the process of fraccing are manifold - from the toxic chemicals and large quantities of water used in the operation to the very real danger of well casing failure.

Ellis said that Chapple "was clearly ignoring the facts with his latest call for a ban on hydraulic fracturing."

"The Greens have a political agenda to shut down Australia's natural gas industry and deny our nation the jobs, investment and energy security it provides," Ellis said.

"Robin Chapple's latest claims show a willingness to exaggerate and mislead in an effort to undermine an industry that puts the health and safety of people and the environment at the core of its operations.

"The incident in the NSW Pilliga Forest was not caused by fraccing. It was the result of a leak which developed in a holding pond built by the previous operator of a coal seam gas operation."

The contamination event, revealed by Santos to the EPA nearly 12 months ago, resulted in the "poorly constructed" wastewater pond being decommissioned by Santos in late 2011, not long after it acquired the project from Eastern Star Gas.