Environmental groups uncover 25-year-old EPA fracking study indicating water contamination

8/4/2011

Environmental groups uncover EPA fracking study indicating water contamination

WASHINGTON — Environmental advocacy groups have uncovered a 1987 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study that concluded hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” of a natural gas well in West Virginia contaminated an underground drinking water source, according to a press release.

The all-but-forgotten report, unearthed by Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Earthjustice, found that fracturing gel from a shale gas well more than 4,000 feet deep had contaminated well water.

Environmental Working Group’s year-long investigation of the incident found that several abandoned natural gas wells located near the fractured well in West Virginia could have served as conduits that allowed the gel, a common ingredient in fracking fluid, to migrate into the water well, the release stated.

“When you add up the gel in the water, the presence of abandoned wells and the documented ability of drilling fluids to migrate through these wells into underground water supplies, there is a lot of evidence that EPA got it right and that this was indeed a case of hydraulic fracturing contamination of groundwater,” said Dusty Horwitt, EWG’s senior oil and gas analyst. “Now it’s up to EPA to pick up where it left off 25 years ago and determine the true risks of fracking so that our drinking water can be protected.”

To read the full press release, click here.

Comments (3)

ralphewers (8/4/2011 7:20:00 PM)

"billturner" seems to miss the point. If gel of whatever composition can make it through to water wells, surely the gas may also do so. The gel itself is not the problem, the alteration of the rock permeability structure is the problem. May I suggest that "billturner" consult the St. Martins Handbook relative to comma faults to improve readability.
billturner (8/4/2011 1:00:00 PM)

I have read this item and the items on the linked sites and there is no reference to what the gel is. Would somebody post the report that is talked about. Lets not rush off in all directions until we know what the gel is.
billturner (8/4/2011 12:56:00 PM)

As a hydrogeologist and oil and gas operator, I have designed drilling fluids using gel. The most common gel is guar gum a common food additive. Guar gum increases viscosity temporarily in order to effectively carry the propant. On setting and in a warm subsurface environment the gel breaks reducing the viscosity upon which it is pumped out. The gell can also be broken by chasing the injection fluid with a sodium hydroxide solution. The guar gum is not a contaminant. I wonder if the old report found that the gel was a guar gum gell.

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Environmental groups uncover EPA fracking study indicating water contamination

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