Read The Real Cost of Fracking Online
Authors: Michelle Bamberger,Robert Oswald
Tags: #Nature, #Environmental Conservation & Protection, #Medical, #Toxicology, #Political Science, #Public Policy, #Environmental Policy
environmental justice: and debate on energy use, 174; disproportionate burden on the rural poor from fracking, 152–53; local town boards vs. residents in some areas, 151–52; power of landowners to control drilling, 150–51; prevalence of NIMBYism, 149; and promise of positive economic outcomes from shale drilling, 149–50; and state restrictions on local governments, 151; zoning laws and the principle of home rule, 151
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): environmental justice goal, 149; hydraulic fracturing study, 7–9; MCL designation by, 61–62, 204n26; water-testing practices, 26–27, 60, 107
EPA/ATSDR, 61
ethanol, 50
ethylbenzene, 43, 161
ethylene glycol, 50, 188
farmland disruption.
See
Davidson, Wade and Sharon
Finger Lakes region, New York, 1–2
flowback, 7, 8, 27, 57, 71, 91, 133
fluoranthene, 60
Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD), 115–16
food production and drilling operations: blow-out hazards to plants and wildlife, 72–73, 131, 136, 142; coexistence of, in Pennsylvania, 97; and compulsory integration law in New York, 99, 100–101, 206n8; contamination of food animals, 103–4; and difficulty in determining the cause of animals’ illnesses, 104–5; and farmers’ goal of controlling their own land, 98–99; and farmers’ rationale for not testing, 105, 106; farmland disruption (
see
Davidson, Wade and Sharon); lack of medical knowledge of effects of drilling chemicals, 105–6; lack of testing for chemical contamination, 103; and land-lease laws in Pennsylvania, 99–101; logic of testing for PAHs and radium-226, 107–8; political support for drilling in Pennsylvania, 98; potential for food contamination from gas drilling on farms, 101–2; presence of human carcinogens in drilling waste, 106–7; ramifications of contamination for organic farmers, 106; wastewater penetration into crops and plants, 72–73; water availability in some drilling areas, 108–9
formate, 62
fossil fuels: anthropogenic climate change and, 174–75; challenge of transition to renewable energy, 177; debate on energy use, 174; disincentives for energy storage by consumers, 178; government subsidies to the industry, 175–77; policy recommendations, 180; political roadblocks to renewable energy, 176; ways to move away from, 177–79.
See also
oil and gas industry
FracFocus website, 27, 71, 126, 187
Fredonia, New York, 87
friction reducers, 43, 187
FRW-200, 43
gag orders.
See
nondisclosure agreements
gas drilling.
See
shale gas drilling
gas-well flaring: anecdotal evidence of ill health effects from, 161; impact on air quality, 63, 161–62; purpose and duration of, 5, 184
gelling agents, 43
German Passivhaus standard, 179
Germany, 177, 178
glutaraldehyde, 46, 122, 188
“Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania,” 128
greenhouse gases, 141, 175
Halliburton, 8
Hart, William, 87
Healey, Ben, 176
health effects of drilling operations: and aerator use, 46–47, 53; and air-testing practices, 29; and anecdotal evidence of ill effects, 11; for animals (
see
animal health effects of drilling operations); basis of the argument that fracking is safe, 171; chemicals released during gas flaring operations, 161–62; children’s and animals’ vulnerability to environmental hazards, 10–11, 16, 19–20; conditions of nondisclosure agreements, 22; correlation between exposure and illness, 21–22, 25, 26, 49, 55–56, 74, 77–78, 85–86, 88, 143–44, 160–62, 166–67; diagnosis of heavy metal poisoning in a boy, 48–49; hazards from wastewater spread on roads, 24; health improvements after clean water is available, 51–52; ill health of infants born near drilled areas, 10; illness of a family’s dog, 34–36; immunosuppressant factor of known drilling chemicals, 126; and indications of water contamination from drilling, 21; and inexactness of animal illness diagnoses, 35–36; and interpretations of MCL, 27–28; and lack of knowledge of long-term effects of exposure to drilling waste, 62, 105–6, 146, 172–73; and lack of proof for causation of health problems, 25–26; and legal issues regarding testing, 117; metallic taste in mouth, 42; and misplacement of the burden of proof of ill effects, 172; and policy-reform recommendations, 173; and potential causes of the death of a calf, 143–44; precautionary principle and, 9–10, 171–72; presence of human carcinogens in drilling waste, 106–7; sense of smell loss, 41, 46, 55; and sentinels of environmental health hazards, 10–11, 16, 19–20; and shale gas syndrome, 25–26; and symptoms of exposure to VOCs, 53–54, 203n21; and typical approach to toxicology testing, 25; and water-testing practices and related issues, 26–29
heat pumps, 179
heavy metal poisoning, 48–49, 182
hexavalent chromium, 25
Hinkley Compressor Station, 25
hippuric acid, 53–54, 203n21
home-rule principle, 151
hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling: alternatives to, 187; categories of chemicals used in, operations, 43; data on leaking cement casings, 43; and estimates of the size of US gas reservoirs, 4, 198n13; evolution of federal regulations regarding, 7–9; laws regarding leak-detection systems, 46; mud-pit liners’ vulnerability to tears, 44–46, 50–51, 121–22; origins of, technique, 2, 3; process description of, 6–7; public reaction against, 5; and risks to aquifers, 6, 23–24; wastewater hazards of, 7.
See also
shale gas drilling
hydrochloric acid, 70, 82, 115, 188
hydrogen sulfide, 5, 46
hydropower industry, 176
immunosuppressants, 126
impoundments: aerators and, 41, 53, 55, 60; chemicals found in, 51, 52, 54; drilling company’s acknowledgment of problems, 59, 60, 117; environmental hazards from, 7, 41, 43, 44, 48, 57, 104, 117, 121–23, 125, 140; impact on real estate values, 65; integrity issues of, 45–46; purpose in drilling operations, 23, 32; risks to crops and animals from, 101; water contamination from leaking pit liners, 44–46, 50–51, 121–22; water-supply disruption due to, 33, 34
Incidents 1, 2, and 3.
See
Smith, Ann and Andrew
International Monetary Fund, 176
iron, 51, 75, 137, 144
Ithaca College, 2
Jackson, Lisa, 9
Jameson, Mary and Charlie, 127–28; concerns about drilling operations, 127; and cow reproductive issues after wastewater spill, 123–24; and discovery and repercussions of a wastewater leak, 121–23; disruption of their quality of life, 112; and evidence of wildlife illnesses due to access to wastewater, 117, 119–20; financial concerns due to quarantine, 116; and health effects of known drilling chemicals, 126; history of their farm, 111; and lack of information about chemicals used in drilling, 126; and lack of wastewater testing by PADEP, 3, 122; and land-lease terms, 113–14; and nature of their calves’ illnesses, 125–26; and necropsy report on calves, 124–25, 126; and number and locations of wells planned for their area, 118–19; and PADEP-instituted cattle quarantine after a spill, 114–15; and PADEP’s failure to test for organic compounds, 122–23; and public health risk due to lack of animal testing, 117–18; and results of soil tests, 123; and size and positioning of drilling infrastructure, 112, 120; unanswered questions about quarantine guidelines, 115–16
Klein, Jesse.
See
Waller, Samantha, and Jesse Klein
land farming, 102
land-lease deals: clauses regarding water, 39; compulsory integration laws and, 1, 99, 100–101, 206n8; foreign interest in, 65; land owners’ rights and, 87, 93, 99, 100, 106, 113–14, 146–47, 185; mineral rights and, 21, 69, 87, 89, 99, 133, 156, 185; percent of land leased for drilling, 102; promises made by, 20, 32–33, 97, 113, 114, 133, 146; requirement for drilling activity, 68–69, 185
land spreading, 102
land treatment, 102
Lash, Gary, 3
lead, 48
Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation (LEAF), 7
Leverkuhn, Mr., 32–33, 43, 66.
See also
Bidermann, Josie; Valdes, Sarah
liners, drilling-mud pit.
See
drilling-mud pit liners
Lundberg Farms, 103
“mad cow disease,” 108
manganese, 51, 75, 137, 144
Marcellus Shale: compulsory integration laws and, 100; depth of the formation, 24; estimate of amount of gas in, 3–4; leaks in, wells, 43; location and available resources of, 183–84; plans for, 67, 118–19
Masry, Edward, 25
maximum contaminant level (MCL): designation by EPA, 61–62, 204n26; interpretations of, 27–28
MC B-8642, 46
mercury, 48
methane: anthropogenic climate change and, 174–75; composition and uses of, 182, 183–84; and documentation of well leaks, 140–41; EPA study concerning, 7–9; high levels of, in a water source, 73, 75, 138, 140; odor from an active gas well, 138; release during rock-fracturing step, 186–87; testing options, 26; tied to energy independence, 4
methylene chloride, 43, 161
mineral rights in leases, 21, 69, 87, 89, 99, 133, 156, 185
Monongahela River, 190
m-xylene, 43
naphtha, 86
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 80
National Organic Program, 106
Natural Resources Defense Council, 152
New Brunswick, Canada, anti-fracking protest in, 5
New York: compulsory integration law, 99, 100–101, 206n8; drilling activity in, 87; environmental oversight, 4, 24, 87, 98, 99, 151, 206n8; land-lease laws, 1; political roadblocks to renewable energy, 176; political support for the oil and gas industry, 98
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), 87, 98, 99, 206n8
Nikiforuk, Andrew, 183
NIMBY (“not in my backyard”), 149
nitrogen fracturing.
See
hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling
nondisclosure agreements: conditions imposed by drilling companies, 14, 22; information-sharing laws, 173; public health dangers due to, 22–23
Norse Energy, 151
North Dakota, 4, 5, 11, 103, 127, 184
Notice of Violation dataset, 121
nuclear industry, 176
NYSDEC, 87, 98, 99, 206n8
oil and gas industry: assertion of safety, 5–6; compulsory integration laws and, 1; estimates of the size of US gas reservoirs, 4, 198n13; evolution of federal regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing, 7–9; government subsidies enjoyed by, 176–77; health effects of operations (
see
health effects of drilling operations); in New York (
see
New York); occupational dangers for employees, 80; origins of new techniques by, 2–3; in Pennsylvania (
see
Pennsylvania); placement of burden of proof on the victim, 9; promise of positive economic outcomes from shale drilling, 149–50; regulation and support of, by states (
see
states); typical steps in establishing a drilling operation, 23–24.
See also
fossil fuels; shale gas drilling
Oil Creek State Park, Pennsylvania, 84
Oklahoma, 4, 23, 190
1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, 43
1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 43
1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, 51, 158
Onondaga horizon, 100, 207n10
organic compounds, 122–23
organic farms, 97, 106
oxygen scavengers, 43, 187
o-xylene, 43
PADEP (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection): absence of routine testing for organic compounds, 122–23, 144; cattle quarantine after a spill, 114–15; contaminants identified in Bradford County water, 75; denial of testing requests, 55–56; dismissal of a pond blow-out complaint, 91, 142; failure to conduct pre-drilling soil and water tests, 144–45; lack of consideration of the in vivo interaction of selenium and sulfate, 125; lack of response to reports of toxic air, 55–56; lack of response to reports of water-quality changes, 157–58; lack of wastewater testing by, 3, 122; response to aftermath of a blow-out on a cattle farm, 142; response to damaged water supplies, 5; results of pre- and post-drilling water tests by, 49–51; water-testing practices, 27, 28
pads.
See
well pads
PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), 60, 107–8
Pennsylvania: coexistence of farming and gas industry, 97; drilling laws, 151; environmental oversight, 100, 122; environmental protection department (
see
PADEP); ill health of infants born near drilled areas, 10; increase in drilling operations, 23; land-lease laws, 99–101; Marcellus Shale drilling (
see
Marcellus Shale); political roadblocks to renewable energy, 176; political support of oil and gas industry, 98; presence of laws regarding disclosure, 173
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
See
PADEP
Pennsylvania Game Commission, 117
Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act 223, 122
Pfund, Nancy, 176
phenathrene, 60
phenol, 52, 54, 62, 203n21
Pine Creek Gorge, Pennsylvania, 128
pit liners.
See
drilling-mud pit liners
Pittsfield, Pennsylvania, 89
pollution.
See
air contamination; water contamination
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 60, 107–8
precautionary principle, 9–10, 171–72
propane, 182, 183
propanol, 50, 51
propylene glycol, 50, 51
p-xylene, 43
quaternary ammonium compounds, 103–4
Rabinowitz, Peter, 10
radioactive compounds, 13, 24, 36, 102, 105, 107–8, 115, 121, 124, 167, 182
radium-226 and radium-228, 102, 105, 107–8
renewable energy, 177, 180, 192
reproductive problems in animals: birth defects, 48, 142–43; breeding problems, 67, 75–77, 112, 145; death of a stud dog, 34–36
research methodology: approach to investigating health effects, 15–16; evidence of intimidation by drilling companies, 16–17; findings about behavior of the industry and regulatory agencies, 13–14; increase in nondisclosure agreements, 14; limits to availability of data, 13; types of information researched, 12–13; veterinary medicine issues discovered, 14–15
Reynolds v. Sims
, 150
Rippel, Raina, 25
Rogers, Deborah, 192
royalties to landowners, 27, 82, 100, 129, 146–47, 152–53, 184