Fracking, thousands of spills and accidents in US oil and gas wells

Spills of polluted fluids and chemicals from 16% of unconventional hydrocarbon wells

According to the study of "Unconventional Oil and Gas Spills: Risks, Mitigation Priorities, and State Reporting Requirements" published by Environmental Science & Technology by a team of US researchers led by Laureen Patterson of the Harvard Law School's Environmental Policy Initiative, the situation of the pollution generated by the USA fracking wells is serious: every year, from 2 to 16% of oil and gas wells exploited by the fracking technique in Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania there have been spills of hydrocarbons, water filled with chemicals, fluids of hydraulic fracturing and other substances. The largest spillage tested by the study resulted in the leak of 100,000 liters of polluting liquids.

The study dealt with unconventional oil and gas spills in 31,481 wells operated by fracking technique in the 4 US states between 2005 and 2014, identifying 6,648 spills over the past 10 years. In all states, the first three years of a well's life, during drilling and hydraulic fracturing, have had the highest production volumes but also the highest risk of spillage. A significant part of the spills (from 26% in Colorado to 53% in North Dakota) occur in wells that have suffered more than one spill, "Which suggests that wells in which spillages have already occurred deserve more attention," they say researchers.

Figures that worsen many of the previous study, "Environmental Impact Assessment of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources" of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on fracking in 8 US states between 2006 and 2012, which had concluded that there were 457 spills.

Patterson, interviewed by BBC News, explains why this strong difference: "The EPA has only looked at spills during the same process of hydraulic fracturing, which take place only in a period ranging from a few days to a few weeks. We have investigated spills in unconventional wells from the time of perforation throughout the production, which could last decades. "

In North Dakota, there were 4.453 accidents 

recorded

 , much more than in Pennsylvania, Colorado and New Mexico, and this can be explained with the different types of reporting. In North Dakota there must be reported any spill over 42 gallons, while in Colorado and New Mexico starts from 210 gallons.

Most of the spills occur during the first three years of wells activity and about 50% of spills occur from the pipelines for the transport of polluted fluids.

"The causes are quite different," says Patterson. "Equipment failures are the major factor, loading and unloading of trucks with material is a far more common human error than in other places."

. Researchers are convinced that "making state data on spills more consistent and accessible could provide stakeholders with important information on where to target efforts to identify and prevent 

future

 losses. However, reporting obligations differ between states, which requires considerable effort to make the data usable in order to be able to analyze them. "

Another author of the study, Kate Konschnik, also of the Harvard Law School, concludes: "Analysis like this is really important to defining and reducing the risks for water supply and human health. Writing state regulations for reporting these factors in mind is crucial to ensuring that correct data is available in the industry, the states and the research community, and in an accessible form. "

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17.6 million Americans live near oil and gas wells and fracking

Those who live within 1 Km from active wells are more at risk of cardiac and neurological problems, cancer and malformation at birth

Physicians, Scientists and Engineers (Why) for Healthy Energy is a non-profit research institute that provides scientific and technical information based on the health, environmental and climatic impacts of energy production and use and is now published on Environmental Perspectives Health  the study "Towards Consistent Methodology to Quantify Populations in Proximity in Oil and Gas Development: A National Spatial Analysis and Review of Environmental and Climate Dimensions of Energy Production and Use," which shows that "approximately 17.6 million Americans live within a kilometer of an active oil or gas well ". The study, conducted with researchers at the California-Berkley University and Havey Mudd Collegs, is the first US census on the number of people living near petroleum and gas production sites, both traditional and fracking wells .

The Why recall that previous studies "have found that active oil and gas production degrades the quality of air, surface water and groundwater; Contaminate soil and increase exposure to noise and light pollution. According to separate studies, when people live within one kilometer of these activities, they have a greater risk of being hospitalized for numerous medical problems, including heart and neurological problems, tumors, and increased incidence and severity of asthma. Neighborhood proximity to these activities has also been associated with birth problems, including premature birth, lower birth weight, neural tube defects, and congenital heart defects.

Yet so far, only a few studies have been published to quantify populations living near petroleum and gas stations and these studies did not link pollutant emissions to certain types of oil and gas production activities.

The study's main author, Eliza Czolowski, explains, "Our study was designed specifically to determine how many Americans saw increased health risks from potential exposure to pollutants emitted by petroleum and gas activities."

In addition to computing the total population of the Usa exposed, researchers analyzed exposure in the various US states by highlighting those with particularly high percentages of population living close to active wells. West Virginia was the most risky state, with 50% of residents living near an active oil or gas well. Right after Oklahoma, it's 47%. La Czolowski. It points out that "When a member on two of a population is potentially exposed to a health risk, this becomes a concern for public health."

Nearly a quarter of Ohioans - 24% - live alongside active wells. MA is the Texas true to most people at risk: 4.5 million. Near live ponds they live 1.4 million children up to 5 years old, a subgroup very vulnerable to environmental exposures

The researchers examined both hydraulic fracturing techniques (fracking) and traditional wells, and Czolowski noted that "Despite the differences in conventional and non-conventional oil production techniques, the health risks can be very similar. Many atmospheric pollutants, including benzene, formaldehyde and particulate matter, are emitted from both conventional and non-conventional activities because they are co-produced with oil and gas, not specifically because a well is fractured hydraulically. Also the emissions of atmospheric pollutants from associated activities, such as drilling wells and truck traffic, are not specific to hydraulic fracturing. "

The researchers point out that some of the data they requested were not available and therefore encourage further studies that follow similarly stringent methodologies, focusing in particular on public health, and taking into ACCOUNT variables excluded from their study, such as population density and activities.

The study concludes that "Given the large number of individuals and the large percentage of populations potentially exposed to pollutants emitted by petroleum and gas activities, protection standards and policies should be considered. Health protection policies may include minimum distances between these activities and places where they live, play and study people, as well as a widespread deployment of the best available technologies to reduce air pollution. "

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Contamination Groundwater and Soil due to Fracking and Extraction Gas and Oil

How do you cope with this tremendous water needs and concerns about contamination of groundwater and soil due to fracking and extraction operations? World experts agree that water re-use and efficiency are the most appropriate way for the future of oil and gas. 

Water is critical in extractive techniques, and in particular in the case of shale gas because it requires a lot of it and should not be salted; in addition, it produces a lot of contaminants.

As we have said, they need accurate, thorough and extensive basin, hydrological and hydrogeological studies, in order to get a CONCESSION . In particular, it must be ensured that the volumes of water used do not deplete the water resource, damaging the ecosystem and the communities that inhabit it.

But it is in the face of polluted water management that regulations become even more demanding. The drilling wastewater contains the additives necessary for the 'facilitation' of the extractive activity, substances derived from perforated or fractured rock, oils, gases and salts.

Waste water management strategies are basically:

·        Re-injection of water, possibly pretreated, into parallel wells and subsequently sealed.

·         STORAGE in ponds / ponds and subsequent treatment and return to the hydraulic surface grid.

·        Re-use in extractive activities after pre-treatment.

·        Re-use after treatment for anthropic activities or community service (gray waters, ponds and ponds with landscaping or play facility).

In all cases, and depending on the regulatory requirements existing in the extraction area, the waters are treated more or less intensely. It's hardly a matter of technically too complex operations: the facilities and technologies needed are undoubtedly less sophisticated than those used to treat   wastewater from industrial activities.

However, the volumes involved are very important, and the production of water is a very important component of the extraction economy.

On the other hand, cases of synergies between the mining industry and local communities are becoming more frequent. It is worth mentioning a case related to the production of coal seam gas in Australia, a country rich in these deposits, where reflux treatment is carried out with an advanced combination of membrane processes (microfiltration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis) and where, thanks to the cooperation between mining companies, scientists and local authorities, the common goal was to make re-usable for both industrial and irrigation purposes almost 100% of these waters. In addition, it has been minimized extension of the basins STORAGE for production water, containing much the environmental impact on the area.

Blue gold is therefore a precious resource for oil and gas companies, as well as black gold (or blue, as it is today called gas) that they produce. Perhaps we had not been told yet, but the future of energy is written just in the water.

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