Fracking water quality concerns

[Oscar]

Fracking water quality concerns

http://www.environmental-expert.com/
resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=35120&codi=187504&lr=1

Source: WaterLink International Aug. 9, 2010
The extraction of natural gas from deep shale formation requires the use of hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking', which involves injecting water and chemicals to rupture deep shale. A predicted boom in Michigan has raised public concerns about water supply, use and contamination.
A new natural gas exploration and production boom could be starting in Michigan in the wake of a surprisingly prodigious gas well which launched a record-setting state lease sale. A subsidiary of the Encana Corporation, Canada's largest natural gas producer, drilled a deep well in Missaukee County that produced an average of 2.5 million cubic feet of natural gas a day for 30 days (at current prices, that's USD375,000 a month from one well). Over the past two years, Encana has bought up the mineral rights to 250,000 acres of land across the state.
The land grab has brought concern over the effects the development could have on Michigan's environment, including its lakes, streams and groundwater. The new play is focused on the Collingwood Shale, a 40-foot-thick vein of rock nearly two miles beneath the surface. Like similar shale formations underlying other states, the Collingwood formation appears to be a rich source of natural gas which burns much more cleanly than coal or oil. ‘Fracking' is the downside of deep shale production, however, where millions of gallons of water mixed with thousands of pounds of chemical are pumped under high pressure into the well to fracture the rock and free the gas from the fissures and pockets.
While most of the fracking fluid is water, it also includes several other additives: a lubricant such as glycol, a sand-like material to keep the fractured rock open, anti-foaming agents and biocides to suppress bacteria growth. Environmental consultant Chris Grobbel (a former environmental quality analyst with the state Department of Natural Resources) has concerns about the fracking process. Grobbel has witnessed the state's oil and gas industry both as a state water quality specialist and while working for companies conducting cleanups. 'The chemicals being used vary from company to company and they're proprietary,' Grobbel said. 'There are as many as 900 out there that we know of and some 600 chemicals are allegedly in each of these products. It's a soup, and there is a lot of variation between companies. They don't have to disclose what they're using, so they don't.
Just as potentially toxic as the fracking fluid are the other long-buried materials brought to the surface when some 20-30% of the fracking fluid is pumped back up. 'The fluid chemistry and toxicity is really driven by the naturally occurring chemicals that are coming up at toxic levels with the return flow,' Grobbel said. 'It brings with it dissolved hydrocarbons - benzene, thylene, ethylbenzene, xylene isomers being the four that are typically focused on. It brings up heavy metals, it can bring up radionucleutides including radium 226 and other naturally occurring materials that are at toxic levels at the surface. And of course you've got all the additives.'
The drilling equipment and the wells also affect air quality, as the material returning to the surface can include carbon monoxide, methane and other gases, according to Grobbel. 'That means greenhouse gases, acid rain-causing gases and asthma-causing particulates are all associated with fracking,' he said.
The US Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a USD1.9 million study of fracking and is hosting a series of listening sessions around the country to take public comment. An EPA session held last month in southwestern Pennsylvania drew over 1,000 attendees. Many had come to complain that fracking fluid from nearby wells had contaminated their drinking water, as well as area ponds and streams. The EPA estimates that natural gas from shale formations like the Marcellus and Collingwood will produce more than 20% of the nation's natural gas supply by 2020, however.

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Frac Flow-Back Water Study

http://www.palmertongroup.com/services/ ... le-gas.asp

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) is undertaking a program to study the chemical makeup of frac flow-back water produced in association with development of the Marcellus Shale. While there is no specific or single incident that triggered this investigation, conversations with PADEP personnel suggest that a recent increase in public awareness and concern over hydrofracturing of the Marcellus Shale contributed to the Department’s decision. Additionally, PADEP claims there is no specific concern over the frac water and that this study is simply that, an investigation to characterize frac flowback water. Analytes include inorganics such as metals, up to 69 volatile and 122 semivolatile organic compounds, glycols, and radioisotopes.
While the study is still underway and analysis of the results has not been published, The Palmerton Group obtained analytical results from 42 samples of frac and flowback water collected by PADEP personnel in 2008 and 2009. This information was obtained via a Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law request, fulfilled via email on February 1, 2010. PADEP is in the process of reviewing the data and will present formal findings in the future.

Downloads - (Links are on website)

PADEP Frac Flow-Back Water Study: Presence of SVOAs

PADEP Frac Flow-Back Water Study: Presence of VOAs

PADEP Frac Flow-Back Water Study: Presence of Glycols

PADEP Frac Flow-Back Water Study: Presence of Inorganics

PADEP Frac Flow-Back Water Study: Presence of Radioisotopes

Related Links - (Links are on website)

New York State DEC - Marcellus Shale Gas
Pennsylvania DEP - Marcellus Shale Gas
West Virginia DEP Marcellus Shale Gas
Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York
Independent Oil & Gas Association of Pennsylvania
Marcellus Shale Gas and Hydraulic Fracturing
Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer (PDF)
PADEP Frac Water Analytes (PDF)
Marcellus Shale Gas Production Type Curves (PDF)
Examination of Potential Factors Affecting Successful Exploration and Production of Devonian Marcellus Shale Gas, US Geological Survey (PDF)