Is it true that Cheney strong-armed members in Congress to pass the bill? Hydraulic fracturing , or fracking, is a method used to obtain natural gas and oil from rock formations underground. The process involves injecting water, sand and various chemicals into drilling wells at high pressure, releasing oil and gas that would otherwise be difficult to retrieve. Fracking gained public attention after the technique led to a boom in U. In , around 26, fracked wells produced 3.
In , , fracked wells produced more than 53 billion cubic feet per day, according to the Energy Information Administration. The EIA also shows a similar increase for crude oil production over that time period. Signed into law by President George W. Bush, the Energy Policy Act of leaves the regulation of fracking to the states, most of which do require some, but not all, chemical disclosure.
Yet the U. President Bush signed the bill, which passed the Senate, , and the House, , with bipartisan support. Barack Obama supported the bill, for example. However, Obama tried, unsuccessfully, to regulate fracking through the Interior Department when he became president. In other words, the BLM rule would have made companies report some of the chemicals they use during fracking operations on federal and tribal lands in all 50 states.
It would have also regulated how companies construct wells and dispose of fracking fluids, among other provisions. Schug, Emanuela Gionfriddo. Optimization of thin film solid phase microextraction and data deconvolution methods for accurate characterization of organic compounds in produced water.
ScienceDaily, 26 May University of Toledo. Chemists identify toxic chemicals in fracking wastewater. Retrieved November 12, from www. The volume of flowback and Also, studies show that gelling agents in hydraulic fracturing fluids decrease the permeability of coals, which is the opposite of what hydraulic fracturing is supposed to do i.
Other similar, unwanted side effects from water- and chemical-based fracturing include: solids plugging up the cracks; water retention in the formation; and chemical reactions between the formation minerals and stimulation fluids. All of these cause a reduction in the permeability in the geological formations. In many oil and gas producing regions, there has been a degradation of air quality as drilling increases.
For example, in Texas, high levels of benzene have been measured in the air near wells in the Barnett Shale gas fields. These volatile air toxics may be originating from a variety of gas-field source such as separators, dehydrators, condensers, compressors, chemical spills, and leaking pipes and valves. Increasingly, research is being conducted on the potential air emissions released during the fracturing flow back stage, when wastewater returns to the surface.
Shales contain numerous organic hydrocarbons, and additional chemicals are injected underground during shale gas drilling, well stimulation e. The Pittsburgh University Center for Healthy Environments and Communities CHEC has been examining how organic compounds in the shale can be mobilized during fracturing and gas extraction processes.
The initial draft of the New York draft supplemental environmental impacts statement related to drilling in the Marcellus Shale which is no longer available on-line included information on modeling of potential air impacts from fracturing fluid wastes stored in centralized impoundments. One analysis looked at the volatile organic compound methanol, which is known to be present in fracturing fluids such as surfactants, cross-linkers, scale inhibitors and iron control additives.
The state calculated that a centralized fracturing flowback waste impoundment serving 10 wells 5 million gallons of flowback per well could have an annual emission of The U. Open pits, tanks or impoundments that accept flowback wastes from one well would have a much smaller emission of volatile organic compounds VOC like methanol than facilities accepting wastes from multiple wells.
Methanol is just one of the VOCs contained in flowback water. The combined emissions from all VOCs present in flowback stored at centralized impoundments could be very large, depending on the composition of the fracturing fluids used at the wells. Data released on flowback water from wells in Pennsylvania reveal that numerous volatile organic chemicals are returning to the surface, sometime in high concentrations.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection looked for 70 volatile organic compounds in flowback , and 27 different chemicals showed up.
Colborn and her co-authors compared the potential health impacts of volatile chemicals with those chemicals more like to be found in water i. Citizens of the gas field are experiencing health effects related to volatile chemicals from pits. This means that for some shale gas wells, millions of gallons of wastewater are generated, and require either treatment for re-use, or disposal. As the industry expands, the volume of waste generated is also increasing rapidly.
The sheer volume of wastes, combined with high concentrations of certain chemicals in the flowback from fracturing operations, are posing major waste management challenges for the Marcellus Shale states. Also, the US Geological Survey has found that flowback may contain a variety of formation materials, including brines, heavy metals, radionuclides, and organics , which can make wastewater treatment difficult and expensive. Options for disposal of radioactive flowback or produced water include underground injection in Class II UIC wells and offsite treatment.
Class II injection wells have also been linked to earthquakes. ProPublica contacted several plant managers in central New York who said they could not take the waste or were not familiar with state regulations.
Pennsylvania state regulators and the natural gas industry are also facing challenges regarding how to ensure proper disposal of the millions of gallons of chemical-laced wastewater generated daily from hydraulic fracturing and gas production in the Marcellus shale.
Drinking water treatment facilities in Pennsylvania are not equipped to treat and remove many flowback contaminants, but rather, rely on dilution of chlorides, sulfates and other chemicals in surface waters used for drinking water supplies. Studies showed that in addition to the Monongahela River, many of the other rivers and streams in Pennsylvania had a very limited ability to assimilate additional TDS, sulfate and chlorides, and that the high concentrations of these constituents were harming aquatic communities.
Research by Carnegie Mellon University and Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority experts suggests that the natural gas industry has contributed to elevated levels of bromide in the Allegheny and Beaver Rivers. Bromides react with disinfectants used by municipal treatment plants to create brominated trihalomethanes, which have been linked to several types of cancer and birth defects.
In August of , Pennsylvania enacted new rules limiting the discharge of wastewater from gas drilling to milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids TDS and milligrams per liter for chlorides.
The number of municipal facilities allowed to take drilling and fracking wastewater has dropped from 27 in to 15 in Disposal of drilling and fracking waste water is going to continue to present a challenge to local and state governments as more wells are developed across the country. One potentially frustrating issue for surface owners is that it has not been easy to find out what chemicals are being used during the hydraulic fracturing operations in your neighborhood.
TEDX subsequently produced reports on the toxic chemicals used in oil and gas development in several western states including Montana , New Mexico , Wyoming and Colorado , and worked with the Environmental Working Group to produce a report on chemicals injected into oil and gas wells in Colorado. In , the first effort to require disclosure of chemicals was launched. The groups asked that state agencies require disclosure of the chemicals used and monitoring of chemicals and wastes released by the oil and gas industry in Colorado.
The chemicals are assessed against: toxicity to humans; toxicity to the environment; biodegradation, bioaccumulation potential and persistence; potential chemical routes and exposure pathways; and health and environmental standards. What types of chemicals are used during hydraulic fracturing? Chemical types What it is used for Biocide, microbial controls Limits the growth of bacteria in the water which may reduce flow rates and contribute to well corrosion Breaker Breaks down the gelling agents and releases the proppant into rock fractures Clay inhibition, stabiliser Counters clay swelling in the well when drilling and in the rocks being fractured to optimise drilling and flow rates Friction reducer Reduces the friction forces of fluids being pumped into the well to increase flow-rates Gelling agent, binder, crosslinker Increases the thickness of fluids which allows more proppant to be carried into rock fractures Iron control, scale control Limits the build-up of iron precipitates and mineral scale which can reduce the flow rate of fluids and contribute to well corrosion Oxygen scavengers, corrosion inhibitors Removes or deactivates oxygen and other corrosive material in fluids which contribute to well corrosion Proppants Tiny solids e.
How can I find out what chemicals are being used in hydraulic fracturing? How are chemicals stored onsite and disposed of? Chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing A range of chemicals are used in the hydraulic fracturing process and many of them are used in industrial processes and household products.
Proppants Chemical name Other applications Crystalline silica Quartz Cat litter, tile mortar, arts and crafts, glass manufacture, ceramic glaze, glaze, concrete, paint Crystalline silica Cristobarite Sand, gravel Ceramic Dinnerware, glassware, tiles, pottery, electronic devices Biocides Chemical type or name Other applications Glutaraldehyde Medical and dental disinfectant, wart treatment THPS Tetrakis hydromethyl phosphonium sulphate Fabric treatment, leather tanning Quaternary ammonium chlorides e.
Breaks down the gelling agents and releases the proppant into rock fractures. Reduces the friction forces of fluids being pumped into the well to increase flow-rates.
Adjusts the chemical and physical properties of the fluid to achieve optimal flow rates. Quaternary ammonium chlorides e. Disinfectants, anti-mould removal, throat lozenges, swimming pool algaecide. Cosmetics, shampoos, conditioners, body washes, disposable wipes. Cleaning agent for electronic components, whiteboard cleaner, hand sanitiser.
Preserving fish and fruit; perfume production, plastics and dyes.
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