Hydraulic Fracturing Facts and Fiction: Chemicals and Contamination

Hydraulic Fracturing
#1

Hydraulic fracturing is a technique that’s been practiced in America for the past 60 years in natural gas well drilling, yet has come under criticism these last few years as landowners and special interest groups claim that it can contaminate drinking water and that it makes the entire drilling and production process more dangerous.

“Hydro fracking,” as the technique is often called, is a method of stimulating natural gas flow in a gas well by breaking up shale rock containing natural gas thousands of feet below surface using a high-pressure stream of fluids (mostly water) and sand.

Range Resources recently revealed the chemicals used in its fracking procedure. Approximately .04% percent of the solution is made of chemical additives deemed to be hazardous, but the concentration is far below the legal maximum limit.

Many landowners have claimed the chemicals have seeped into their drinking water and made them sick. There is considerable debate over the cause of these problems. Natural gas producers generally claim the contamination is due to faulty well casing, not the actual hydrofracking procedure.

Geologists say “fracturing fluids injected 5000 to 12000 feet underground can’t defy gravity and rock mechanics and migrate thousands of feet upward through solid rock,” but their financial interest draws skepticism.

Hydrofracking is singlehandedly responsible for turning around the decline in natural gas production, and is the only current means we have of making energy independence a reality. Yet it may come at the cost of our health.

What is your opinion? Does the procedure really cause contamination, and if so, is it worth it?

#2

Absolutely not worth it if it causes ill health. If faulty well casing is a factor, ways can be found to minimize that possibility, and surely, if the problem is mainly in the water supply, that can be tested. My bet is that the problem is the hiding of factors by nervous, if not guilty, industry folk even when some factors may, in the long term, not matter. Regulators can be obsessive and stupid, the industry can be sneaky and criminal. I doubt that will change.

#3

But the surprising thing about all of it is that the gas industry seems to actually be in favor of more studies. My thinking is this is for one of two reasons:

Natural gas drilling companies may be pretty confident that studies will show hydraulic fracturing does not contaminate water.

Or they may be well aware that water contamination is caused by hydraulic fracturing, and just want more studies done because that pushes any date for future regulation further back.

Right now I’m leaning towards the first option, but I don’t think that means that hydrofracking isn’t causing health problems. It just means that gas industry geologists are allowing their bias in favor of the industry to get in the way of proper study of the effects of fracking.

#4

I hope you guys haven’t been sipping the kool-aid as pushed by the HBO movie “Gasland”… It’s totally fraught with misstatements.

If you have access to the last couple of issues of the NARO bulletin, please get it and read it. I am not too sure of the copyright implications, or I’d post a link to it or upload a pdf of it… You can most likely get copies or a link from NARO at http://www.naro-us.org/.

My OPINION is, is that it hasn’t been shown to cause problems and that most of the talk is coming from the environmentalist far left department. I am a strong environmentalist of the middle of the road variety…

#5

Not at all, Bruce. I’m in favor of hydrofracking. I don’t think it is the cause of these health problems.

It seems to me like environmental activists and people who are generally against drilling due to the other negative factors involved (constant loud noise, high traffic, road problems, depopulation of forests, etc.) are attempting to capitalize on the fear and misinformation of American citizens regarding hydraulic fracturing. They’re using it as a platform to gain support for regulation.

#6

As someone who is waiting (3yrs now ) in NY because of the disimformation that the Antis are spreading it is an up hill battle to get drilling going in this state

#7

The question is, are these moratoriums on drilling the best way to handle the risks involved? Or should we assume hydraulic fracturing is innocent of contamination problems until proven guilty?

It’s a hard decision, understandably, but in light of how certain gas companies seem to be of the chemicals’ innocence (so certain that they are in favor of more studies), I think that maybe the burden of proof is on the environmental groups who are so insistent that the technique is harmful.

But then again, there are peoples’ lives at stake.

#8

as someone who is dealing with the wait …NO they are not the way …i can look out my back window and PA and i know that they have drilling going on while we wait for studys to be done .there has never been a drilling problem in NY …over 8k wells fracked with no contamation…this is a power play by the state goverment and local also so they can get state and local land signed and force the landowners in with compulsery intergation …local county allready tried with a bad deal and suprisely anti’s and landowner were on the same page …BAD DEAL…

Taylor Dukes said:

The question is, are these moratoriums on drilling the best way to handle the risks involved? Or should we assume hydraulic fracturing is innocent of contamination problems until proven guilty?

It’s a hard decision, understandably, but in light of how certain gas companies seem to be of the chemicals’ innocence (so certain that they are in favor of more studies), I think that maybe the burden of proof is on the environmental groups who are so insistent that the technique is harmful.

But then again, there are peoples’ lives at stake.
#9