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Water Contamination from Gas Drilling
LATEST INFO:Latest water contamination due to fracturing from natural gas drilling information.
Dimock, A Town Fractured
On September 2009, more than 8,000 gallons of dangerous hydraulic fracturing fluid was discharged following a series of spills from a well site run by Cabot Oil and Gas near the town of Dimock, in northeastern Pennsylvania. The drilling fluid involved in the spill was manufactured by Halliburton and is described as a "potential carcinogen." More? Click Here.
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8/05/10-Ex-Governor Tom Ridge Latest Former Pennsylvania Official to Sign on with Frackers
Former Governor Tom Ridge has become just the latest ex-Pennsylvania official to enter into a lucrative arrangement with the gas drilling industry that is seeking to expand hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the state’s Marcellus shale region. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, late last month, two of Ridge’s consulting firms – Ridge Global and the Ridge Policy Group – signed one year contracts to serve as strategic advisers to the Marcellus Shale Coalition. The contracts will net Ridge’s firms a total of $900,000 this year. More? Click Here.
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8/04/10-New York Senate Backs Fracking Moratorium, Pennsylvania Group Tallies Violations
The New York State Senate overwhelmingly voted to impose a moratorium on shale gas drilling yesterday. Meanwhile, a Pennsylvania report has found that Marcellus shale gas drillers there have racked up more than 1,400 violations since January 2008. More? Click Here.
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7/07/10-Cattle Quarantined After Run-in with Fracking Fluid
Some Pennsylvania cows have had to be quarantined after coming into contact with toxic wastewater from a hydraulic fracturing operation. The incident is just the latest to raise concerns about the safety of hydraulic gas drilling in the state. More? Click Here.
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6/07/10-West Virginia Natural Gas Well Explosion
Seven people were injured after a cloud of methane gas ignited, triggering an explosion at a natural gas drilling site near Moundsville, West Virginia on June 7, 2010. A 50-foot-high flare created by the explosion was expected to burn for several days. More? Click Here.
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6/03/10-Pennsylvania Natural Gas Well Blowout
Houston-based EOG Resources Inc. (EOG) was ordered to temporarily halt natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania, following a well blowout in the northwestern part of the state on June 3, 2010. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said the firm was banned from all drilling activities for seven days, and wouldn't be allowed to engage in any hydraulic fracturing for up to 14 days. More? Click Here.
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Water Contamination from Shale Gas Drilling
The growing practice of drilling for the natural gas embedded in shale rock deep below the Earth's surface may be contaminating water in many places. Critics of hydraulic fracturing suspect that the chemicals used in the process have somehow leaked into the water supply. Landowners in shale gas areas have reported foul smells in tap water, and toxic chemicals, such as benzene, have been detected in water from wells near drilling sites.
Many of the chemicals used in shale gas drilling, such as benzene, are hazardous. Long-term exposure to such chemicals can have serious health consequences. However, the industry has been reluctant to disclose the chemicals used in the process, for fear of disclosing proprietary information to their competitors. But people living in shale gas drilling areas have a right to this information, especially if any of these chemicals could poison surrounding water supplies.
Our firm is aggressively investigating the problem of water contamination from shale gas drilling. If you live in a community where shale gas drilling is occurring and suspect that water supplies have been tainted, we want to hear from you. Please contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
Shale Gas Drilling
Shale gas drilling involves injecting water, sand, and a cocktail of chemicals at high pressure into rock formations thousands of feet below the surface. This opens existing fractures in the rock and allows gas to rise through the wells. The practice makes drilling possible in areas that 10 to 20 years ago would not have been profitable.
While gas drillers have used this fracturing process for decades, its use has expanded in the past few years as energy companies began exploring shale formations. The process has proven so successful that some experts believe that the U.S. is on the cusp of a shale gas drilling boom. Boosters of shale gas drilling claim it will play a key role in pushing the U.S. towards energy independence.
The major concern with shale gas drilling is the chemicals used in the process. Because the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act, shale gas drillers don't have to disclose what chemicals they use.
A study conducted by Theo Colburn, PhD, the director of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange in Paonia, Colorado, has so far identified 65 chemicals that are probable components of the injection fluids used by shale gas drillers. These chemicals included benzene, glycol-ethers, toluene, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethanol, and nonylphenols. All of these chemicals have been linked to health disorders when human exposure is too high.
Concerns are growing that many of the chemicals used in shale gas drilling are seeping into groundwater. While some of the injection fluid used in the process comes back to the surface, 30 to 40 percent is never recovered, according to the industries own estimates.
People living in the vicinity of shale gas drilling have reported foul smells in their tap water. In some instances gas well pipes have broken, resulting in leakage of contaminants into the surrounding ground. There have also been cases of improper disposal of potentially toxic wastewater from a fracturing operation. In addition, the process of drilling a well has on at least one occasion disrupted a layer of limestone containing methane, which subsequently escaped. The rapidly expanding development of shale gas reservoirs has left regulatory agencies and legislatures scrambling to keep up with the new environmental issues raised by the operations.
Legal Help for Victims of Shale Gas Drilling Water Contamination
Water contamination from shale gas drilling could be threatening the health of thousands of people. Our firm is committed to making sure that shale gas drillers are held accountable for the damage caused by this process. We are aggressively investigating cases where shale gas drilling is the suspected cause of water contamination.
If you believe chemicals from shale gas drilling have contaminated water and wells in your area, you have valuable legal rights. Please fill out our online form, or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) today to schedule a free consultation.