All Discussions Tagged 'fracking' - GoMarcellusShale.com2024-03-29T07:35:01Zhttps://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=fracking&feed=yes&xn_auth=noFracking chemicals and reproductive abnormalities in micetag:gomarcellusshale.com,2018-02-09:2274639:Topic:7725392018-02-09T04:52:20.714ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p class="p2">“Today, researchers at the University of Missouri and the University of Massachusetts released a study that found that <b>female mice exposed to mixtures of chemicals used in UOG [unconventional oil and gas] operations</b> during prenatal development <b>had abnormal mammary glands in adulthood</b>. Additionally, some of the mice developed pre-cancerous mammary lesions that may suggest they will be more sensitive to chemicals that cause <b>cancer</b>. ……</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p2">“Today, researchers at the University of Missouri and the University of Massachusetts released a study that found that <b>female mice exposed to mixtures of chemicals used in UOG [unconventional oil and gas] operations</b> during prenatal development <b>had abnormal mammary glands in adulthood</b>. Additionally, some of the mice developed pre-cancerous mammary lesions that may suggest they will be more sensitive to chemicals that cause <b>cancer</b>. …</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p2">“We examined 23 UOG contaminants and compounds commonly used or produced in the fracking process.” In the study, female mice were exposed to various amounts of the 23 UOG chemicals from gestational day 11 to birth. Although no effects were observed on the mammary glands of these females prior to puberty, in early adulthood, female mice developed mammary lesions and hyperplasia, a condition that causes enlargement of an organ or tissue. “We chose varying amounts of the UOG mixture in order to mimic a range of human exposures to these chemicals.” ...</p>
<p class="p1">The study, “<em>Prenatal exposure to unconventional oil and gas operation chemical mixtures altered mammary gland development in adult female mice</em>” was published in the journal Endocrinology." Authors of the study: Laura N. Vandenberg and Sarah A. Sapouckey of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, MA; Susan C. Nagel of University of Missouri-Columbia; and Christopher D. Kassotis of Duke University in Durham, N.C.</p>
<p class="p2"><a href="https://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2018/0207-exposure-to-chemicals-used-during-fracking-may-cause-pre-cancerous-lesions-in-mice-mu-study-finds/">https://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2018/0207-exposure-to-chemicals-used-during-fracking-may-cause-pre-cancerous-lesions-in-mice-mu-study-finds/</a></p> low-birth-weight babies near gas wellstag:gomarcellusshale.com,2017-12-14:2274639:Topic:7695402017-12-14T05:21:58.362ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Proximity to fracked shale wells affects infant birth weight, study shows</strong></span></p>
<p>" Fracking can damage the health and development of babies whose mothers live near shale gas drilling and fracking sites, according to a new <strong>study of more than 1.1 million births in Pennsylvania from 2004 through 2013</strong>.</p>
<p>The study, released Wednesday, found that <strong>infants living within a half mile of a fracked shale gas well were…</strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Proximity to fracked shale wells affects infant birth weight, study shows</strong></span></p>
<p>" Fracking can damage the health and development of babies whose mothers live near shale gas drilling and fracking sites, according to a new <strong>study of more than 1.1 million births in Pennsylvania from 2004 through 2013</strong>.</p>
<p>The study, released Wednesday, found that <strong>infants living within a half mile of a fracked shale gas well were 25 percent more likely to have low birth weight</strong> -- below 5.5 pounds -- putting them at greater risk of infant mortality, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, ...</p>
<p>“This study provides <strong>the strongest large-scale evidence of a link between the pollution that stems from hydraulic fracturing activities and our health, specifically the health of babies</strong>,” said Michael Greenstone, an economics professor and director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and a study co-author.</p>
<p>Titled “Hydraulic Fracturing and Infant Health: New Evidence from Pennsylvania,” the study also found elevated health risks for babies extending up to two miles from a shale gas well. "</p>
<p>source: <a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2017/12/13/Fracking-impacts-babies-Princeton-University-Chicago-UCLA-Marcellus-shale-gas/stories/201712130167" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2017/12/13/Fracking-impacts-babies-Princeton-University-Chicago-UCLA-Marcellus-shale-gas/stories/201712130167</a></p>
<p>The research paper, by Janet Currie, Michael Greenstone, and Katherine Meckel, is available (PDF) at <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/12/e1603021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/12/e1603021</a> .</p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Old-timers on gomarcellusshale may recall discussion of studies (<span>smaller, as I recall)</span> from several years ago that found evidence of low birth weight babies and birth defects in PA, CO, UT, and other states. <a href="http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/birth-defects-near-oil-and-gas-wells" target="_self">http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/birth-defects-near-oil-and-gas-wells</a></span></p> DEP knew of public water contamination from drilling and fracking in Coudersport, but told no onetag:gomarcellusshale.com,2016-09-29:2274639:Topic:7510942016-09-29T14:30:13.491ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p><strong>One Year Later: Officials Found Drilling Chemicals in Public Water, But Told No One</strong></p>
<p>"One year ago, on September 24, 2015, a new company owned by billionaire Terry Pegula — JKLM Energy — announced that it had contaminated private drinking water supplies while drilling for natural gas in Potter County, Pennsylvania. ... Public Herald has uncovered evidence that, from the very beginning, JKLM Energy and DEP officials knew contaminants were detected in public drinking…</p>
<p><strong>One Year Later: Officials Found Drilling Chemicals in Public Water, But Told No One</strong></p>
<p>"One year ago, on September 24, 2015, a new company owned by billionaire Terry Pegula — JKLM Energy — announced that it had contaminated private drinking water supplies while drilling for natural gas in Potter County, Pennsylvania. ... Public Herald has uncovered evidence that, from the very beginning, JKLM Energy and DEP officials knew contaminants were detected in public drinking water, but told no one. ...</p>
<p>In 2015, an October 7th email to JKLM representatives obtained by Public Herald, PA DEP Program Manager Jennifer Means wrote: “We…noticed the detects of MBAS and acetone in the hospital spring, and BTEX in Coudersport’s Well 1..."</p>
<p>BTEX — <strong>benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene</strong> — are a group of carcinogenic compounds that can damage human health. The chemicals are often in fluids for fracking, and have been detected at high volumes returning back to the surface as ‘flowback’ — or wastewater."</p>
<p><a href="http://publicherald.org/one-year-later-officials-found-drilling-chemicals-in-public-water-but-told-no-one/">http://publicherald.org/one-year-later-officials-found-drilling-chemicals-in-public-water-but-told-no-one/</a></p> Lead in Pittsburgh drinking water connected to fracking?tag:gomarcellusshale.com,2016-09-13:2274639:Topic:7496252016-09-13T18:05:31.050ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p><span>Have Pittsburgh's problems with lead in drinking water been exacerbated by fracking?</span></p>
<p>excerpts of news story:</p>
<p>"By 2010, the [Pittsburgh] water agency was struggling with what seemed like an invasion of cancer-causing chemicals called trihalomethanes, formed when salty <strong>fracking</strong> wastewater came into contact with treated drinking water. In an effort to reduce brominated trihalomethanes, the PWSA dropped chlorine levels, <strong>one of several…</strong></p>
<p><span>Have Pittsburgh's problems with lead in drinking water been exacerbated by fracking?</span></p>
<p>excerpts of news story:</p>
<p>"By 2010, the [Pittsburgh] water agency was struggling with what seemed like an invasion of cancer-causing chemicals called trihalomethanes, formed when salty <strong>fracking</strong> wastewater came into contact with treated drinking water. In an effort to reduce brominated trihalomethanes, the PWSA dropped chlorine levels, <strong>one of several factors</strong> Stanley States, the director of water quality at PWSA until 2014, believes <strong>led to increased lead levels</strong>.</p>
<p>In 2012, the struggling agency brought in Veolia North America, a French corporation, to manage the city’s water supply. The same company is being sued in Michigan for allegedly failing to warn officials about lead risks to Flint’s water.</p>
<p>After Veolia took over management of the city’s water, the chemical used to control corrosion of metals, such as lead, was changed. Typically, it takes months for a water department to change corrosion control methods, because changes can cause lead spikes. ...</p>
<p>Instead, PWSA changed the corrosion control to save money in violation of state law. ... Pittsburgh’s mayor, William Peduto, blamed Veolia for the chemical change, and said the city and water board were not informed. ...</p>
<p>And under Veolia’s management, PWSA’s new executive director, James Good, a longtime Veolia employee and former private water lobbyist, became the second-highest paid public employee in the region. He earned $240,000 a year with generous benefits. ...</p>
<p>Unlike in Flint, Michigan, where sudden changes in water chemistry caused a spike, lead levels in Pittsburgh’s tap water rose steadily for 12 years, alongside <strong>cancer-causing chemicals from fracking waste</strong>.</p>
<p>By 2013, 14.8 parts per billion of lead were found in tap water, teetering on the edge of the federal limit of 15 parts per billion.That level is meant to warn water authorities that methods to control pipe corrosion are not working. <strong>Pittsburgh blew past 15 parts per billion in its most recent tests</strong>.</p>
<p>There is no safe level of lead. In childhood, exposure diminishes IQ and can lead to behavioral and developmental problems."</p>
<p>source:</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/12/pittsburgh-water-expensive-rust-colored-corrosive">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/12/pittsburgh-water-expensive-rust-colored-corrosive</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>related: earlier thread: "Did Flint's water become poisoned because of political favors to frackers?":</p>
<p><a href="http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/did-flint-s-water-become-poisoned-because-of-political-favors-to">http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/did-flint-s-water-become-poisoned-because-of-political-favors-to</a></p> Air pollutants from Pennsylvania oil and gas sites continue to risetag:gomarcellusshale.com,2016-08-22:2274639:Topic:7467782016-08-22T17:08:09.920ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p></p>
<p>"Air pollutants from Pennsylvania’s natural gas production sites increased from 2013 to 2014, according to data released Wednesday by the Department of Environmental Protection. The air inventory data for shale gas production relies on information submitted by the industry, and includes emissions from compressor stations that utilize gas from coal beds, conventional, and unconventional wells. Although the number of well sites reporting information to the DEP dropped by 2.7 percent…</p>
<p></p>
<p>"Air pollutants from Pennsylvania’s natural gas production sites increased from 2013 to 2014, according to data released Wednesday by the Department of Environmental Protection. The air inventory data for shale gas production relies on information submitted by the industry, and includes emissions from compressor stations that utilize gas from coal beds, conventional, and unconventional wells. Although the number of well sites reporting information to the DEP dropped by 2.7 percent from 2013 to 2014, the number of pipeline related infrastructure sites increased by 12 percent.</p>
<p><strong>Sulfur dioxide emissions saw the greatest jump</strong>, increasing 40 percent over 2013 levels. Sulfur dioxide contributes to acid rain, and causes respiratory problems including asthma. Other air pollutants that contribute to public health impacts also increased, including nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds. ...</p>
<p>The 2014 shale gas emissions inventories include increases of 18 percent for nitrogen oxides, 25 percent for both fine particulate matter and volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), and 19 percent for carbon monoxide. Particulate matter causes heart attacks, asthma, and difficulty breathing. It can be fatal for people with heart and lung disease. VOC’s cause a number of symptoms including eye, nose and throat irritations; headaches, nausea, as well as liver and kidney damage."</p>
<p></p>
<p>from <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/08/17/air-pollutants-from-pa-oil-and-gas-sites-continue-to-rise/">https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/08/17/air-pollutants-from-pa-oil-and-gas-sites-continue-to-rise/</a></p> Billions of Gallons of Fracking Wastewater Dumped in Gulftag:gomarcellusshale.com,2016-08-03:2274639:Topic:7444172016-08-03T01:55:11.498ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p><strong>Obama Administration Permitted 1,200 Offshore Fracks in Gulf of Mexico</strong></p>
<p><strong>Documents Show Billions of Gallons of Oil Waste Fluid Dumped Into Gulf Waters</strong></p>
<p>"Federal officials permitted more than 1,200 offshore fracks by oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010 to 2014, according to federal documents obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity.</p>
<p>The fracks occurred in at least 630 different wells off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana,…</p>
<p><strong>Obama Administration Permitted 1,200 Offshore Fracks in Gulf of Mexico</strong></p>
<p><strong>Documents Show Billions of Gallons of Oil Waste Fluid Dumped Into Gulf Waters</strong></p>
<p>"Federal officials permitted more than 1,200 offshore fracks by oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010 to 2014, according to federal documents obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity.</p>
<p>The fracks occurred in at least 630 different wells off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, ...</p>
<p>“The Obama administration is essentially letting oil companies frack at will in Gulf ecosystems and dump billions of gallons of oil waste into coastal waters,” said Kristen Monsell, a Center attorney. “Every offshore frack increases the risk to wildlife and coastal communities, yet federal officials have been just rubber-stamping this toxic practice in the Gulf of Mexico for years.”</p>
<p>...<span>At least 10 fracking chemicals routinely used in offshore fracking could kill or harm a broad variety of marine species, including sea otters and fish, Center scientists have </span><a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2014/fracking-09-11-2014.html" target="_blank">found</a><span>. Other scientists have identified some common fracking chemicals to be among the most toxic in the world to marine animals.</span>"</p>
<p><a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/offshore-fracking-06-28-2016.html">https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/offshore-fracking-06-28-2016.html</a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97618564?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97618564?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p> Health study shows connection between asthma attacks and gas drillingtag:gomarcellusshale.com,2016-07-30:2274639:Topic:7434332016-07-30T18:28:30.512ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p>"People with asthma face a larger risk of asthma attacks if they live near heavy gas drilling activity in Pennsylvania, compared to those who don’t, according to research by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The report “Association Between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations,” is the first to make use of extensive electronic health records from the Geisinger…</p>
<p>"People with asthma face a larger risk of asthma attacks if they live near heavy gas drilling activity in Pennsylvania, compared to those who don’t, according to research by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, published Monday in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The report “Association Between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations,” is the first to make use of extensive electronic health records from the Geisinger Health System, along with state well production data, to examine the impact on asthma.</p>
<p>“Ours is the first to look at asthma but we now have several studies suggesting adverse health outcomes related to the drilling of unconventional natural gas wells,” said Sara G. Rasmussen, the study’s lead researcher and a PhD candidate in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences. “Going forward, we need to focus on the exact reasons why these things are happening, because if we know why, we can help make the industry safer.”</p>
<p>Rasmussen and her colleagues looked at the health records of more than 35,000 Geisinger patients between the ages of 5 and 90 who had asthma. Geisinger has been keeping detailed electronic health records since the early 2000′s, which made for a large data set. The researchers looked at patients health records between 2005 and 2012. The healthcare system encompasses 40 counties in central and northeast Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>...<span>Looking at four stages of shale gas well activity, which included preparing the well site, drilling, fracking, and production, Rasmussen says they found that <strong>people with asthma who live near more intense shale gas activity are 1.5 to 4.4 times more likely to suffer from an asthma attack</strong>.</span></p>
<p>...<span>The study did not look at causation, but Rasmussen says its likely either increased air pollution and/or stress from new industrial activity.</span>"</p>
<p></p>
<p>source</p>
<p><a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/07/18/health-study-shows-connection-between-asthma-attacks-and-gas-drilling/">https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2016/07/18/health-study-shows-connection-between-asthma-attacks-and-gas-drilling/</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>original study</p>
<p>Association Between Unconventional Natural Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale and Asthma Exacerbations, by <span>Sara G. Rasmussen; Elizabeth L. Ogburn; Meredith McCormack; Joan A. Casey; Karen Bandeen-Roche; Dione G. Mercer; and Brian S. Schwartz; JAMA Internal Medicine.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2534153">http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2534153</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>related</p>
<p>Cardiovascular hospital admissions higher in fracking areas,</p>
<p><a href="http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/cardiovascular-hospital-admissions-higher-in-fracking-areas">http://gomarcellusshale.com/forum/topics/cardiovascular-hospital-admissions-higher-in-fracking-areas</a></p> Navajos Wonder Whether Fracking Chemicals Are Deforming Their Livestocktag:gomarcellusshale.com,2016-07-28:2274639:Topic:7429182016-07-28T19:31:20.179ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p>"It took Dorothy Keetso only a few minutes to realize the baby lamb was fatally deformed.</p>
<p>The animal, born June 6, nursed from a bottle and followed on Keetso’s heels as she moved through her family’s home in the small Navajo community of Counselor, New Mexico. The lamb’s belly swelled with milk, Keetso said—and kept swelling. Born without a rectum, the animal was unable to defecate. She died a week later.</p>
<p>The death was a blow to a family of six adult siblings who care for…</p>
<p>"It took Dorothy Keetso only a few minutes to realize the baby lamb was fatally deformed.</p>
<p>The animal, born June 6, nursed from a bottle and followed on Keetso’s heels as she moved through her family’s home in the small Navajo community of Counselor, New Mexico. The lamb’s belly swelled with milk, Keetso said—and kept swelling. Born without a rectum, the animal was unable to defecate. She died a week later.</p>
<p>The death was a blow to a family of six adult siblings who care for their elderly father and depend on sheep for survival. The family expected the lamb—itself worth about $250 at market—to reproduce and replenish the herd. Its death will cost the family exponentially over the coming years, Keetso said through an interpreter.</p>
<p>“This is our fourth generation of ewes from sheep we raised ourselves,” she said. “This is the first time there has been a birth defect. Every ewe has the prospect of raising so many other lambs through the years, but this one will not bring any return.”</p>
<p><b>...</b> Stark changes have come to this sleepy community during the decade since Encana Oil & Gas drilled the first horizontal well in the San Juan Basin and introduced hydraulic fracturing to the area. Now this patchwork stretch of earth—divided into plots of federal, state, private and tribally owned land—is pockmarked with drills, pumps, wells and pipelines.</p>
<p>... Keetso called her lamb the first casualty—if not of the extraction industry itself, then certainly of the collision of special interests on the land. The death raises questions of “what if,” she said. “What if our land is being contaminated? What if oil and gas are killing our livestock?” "</p>
<address><a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/07/20/what-ifs-fracking-navajos-wonder-whether-chemicals-are-deforming-their-livestock-165202">http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/07/20/what-ifs-fracking-navajos-wonder-whether-chemicals-are-deforming-their-livestock-165202</a></address>
<address><a href="http://d1jrw5jterzxwu.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/article_media/nihigaal_group_.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://d1jrw5jterzxwu.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/article_media/nihigaal_group_.jpg" class="align-full"/></a></address>
<address><a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/14/blackhorse-fracking-and-dine-revolution-verge-158700">http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/01/14/blackhorse-fracking-and-dine-revolution-verge-158700</a></address> Flooding in Texas overwhelms oil wells & fracking sitestag:gomarcellusshale.com,2016-06-07:2274639:Topic:7369942016-06-07T00:07:38.424ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p class="p1">From the El Paso Times:</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1">“Scores of photographs taken by state emergency-management officials show that when floodwaters rise in Texas, they inundate oil wells and fracking sites, sweeping crude and noxious chemicals into rivers throughout the Lone Star State.</p>
<p class="p1">Most recently, rainbow sheens and caramel plumes can be seen radiating from tipped tanks and flooded production pads during the March flood of the Sabine River, which…</p>
<p class="p1">From the El Paso Times:</p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p1">“Scores of photographs taken by state emergency-management officials show that when floodwaters rise in Texas, they inundate oil wells and fracking sites, sweeping crude and noxious chemicals into rivers throughout the Lone Star State.</p>
<p class="p1">Most recently, rainbow sheens and caramel plumes can be seen radiating from tipped tanks and flooded production pads during the March flood of the Sabine River, which forms much of the state’s boundary with Louisiana. Similar scenes are visible in photos from last year’s floods of the Trinity, Red, and Colorado rivers. …</p>
<p class="p1">In other areas, cattle that drank the fracking fluid actually died an hour after drinking it. There are potential carcinogens that can lead to leukemia, brain cancer and other endocrine disruptors that can affect premature births.”</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2016/04/30/flooding-sweeps-oil-chemicals-into-rivers/83671348/">http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2016/04/30/flooding-sweeps-oil-chemicals-into-rivers/83671348/</a></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97618232?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/97618232?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p class="p1"></p>
<p class="p1">Audio story from Le Show</p>
<p class="p1"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/leshowharryshearer/le-show-with-harry-shearer-june-5-2016#t=23:51">https://soundcloud.com/leshowharryshearer/le-show-with-harry-shearer-june-5-2016#t=23:51</a></p> Radioactive contamination from fracking wastewater spillstag:gomarcellusshale.com,2016-05-13:2274639:Topic:7338212016-05-13T21:27:20.791ZPaul Heckberthttps://gomarcellusshale.com/profile/PaulHeckbert
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">A Duke University study of fracking wastewater spills in North Dakota has found high levels of selenium, lead, ammonium, and other toxic compounds. High levels of radium 226, radioactive with a half-life of 1600 years, were also found. The researchers observed that pipeline leaks were responsible for half of the spilled wastewater, with the remainder coming from valves, connections, tank leaks, and tank overflows.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Unlike…</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">A Duke University study of fracking wastewater spills in North Dakota has found high levels of selenium, lead, ammonium, and other toxic compounds. High levels of radium 226, radioactive with a half-life of 1600 years, were also found. The researchers observed that pipeline leaks were responsible for half of the spilled wastewater, with the remainder coming from valves, connections, tank leaks, and tank overflows.</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Unlike spilled oil, which starts to break down in soil, these spilled brines consist of inorganic chemicals, metals and salts that are resistant to biodegradation,” said Lauer, a Ph.D. student who was lead author of the study. “They don’t go away; they stay. <strong>This has created a legacy of radioactivity at spill sites</strong>.”</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Their study concluded: "The resistance of inorganic contamination to biodegradation and its consequential persistence in the environment suggest that contamination from brine spills in North Dakota will continue to impact nearby water resources for years to come. To fully understand the impacts of brine spills in North Dakota, future research should evaluate additional spill sites, analyze organic contamination in addition to inorganic elements, assess the impacts downstream of spill sites, including risks to drinking water sources, and conduct a comprehensive assessment of long-term ecological and possible human health impacts."</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><a href="http://drcinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ND-brine-spill.pdf">http://drcinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/ND-brine-spill.pdf</a></span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">"Brine Spills Associated with Unconventional Oil Development in North Dakota"</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Nancy E. Lauer, et al, Environmental Science and Technology journal</span></p>
<p class="p2"></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2"><a href="http://oilpatchdispatch.areavoices.com/2016/04/27/spill-contamination-lingering-years-later-study-says/">http://oilpatchdispatch.areavoices.com/2016/04/27/spill-contamination-lingering-years-later-study-says/</a></span></p>
<p class="p3"><a href="http://oilpatchdispatch.areavoices.com/files/2016/04/042816.N.AD_.DukeStudyweb.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://oilpatchdispatch.areavoices.com/files/2016/04/042816.N.AD_.DukeStudyweb.jpg" class="align-full"/></a></p>