Cattle from Tioga County Farm Quarantined after Coming in Contact
with Natural Gas Drilling Wastewater
PA-DEP Release
1 July 2010
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg PA., 17120
CONTACT:
Justin Fleming, Department of Agriculture, 717-787-5085
HARRISBURG -- The Department of Agriculture announced today that it has
quarantined cattle from a Tioga County farm after a number of cows came
into contact with drilling wastewater from a nearby natural gas
operation.
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said uncertainty over the
quantity of wastewater the cattle may have consumed warranted the
quarantine in order to protect the public from eating potentially
contaminated beef.
“Cattle are drawn to the taste of salty water,” said Redding. “Drilling
wastewater has high salinity levels, but it also contains dangerous
chemicals and metals. We took this precaution in order to protect
the public from consuming any of this potentially contaminated product
should it be marketed for human consumption.”
Redding said 28 head of cattle were included in the quarantine,
including 16 cows, four heifers and eight calves. Those cattle were out
to pasture in late April and early May when a drilling wastewater
holding pond on the farm of Don and Carol Johnson leaked, sending the
contaminated water into an adjacent field where it created a pool. The
Johnsons had noticed some seepage from the pond for as long as two
months prior to the leak.
The holding pond was collecting flowback water from the hydraulic
fracturing process on a well being drilled by East Resources Inc.
Grass was killed in a roughly 30- x 40-foot area where the wastewater
had pooled. Although no cows were seen drinking the wastewater, tracks
were found throughout the pool. The wet area extended about 200-300
feet into the pasture.
The cattle had potential access to the pool for a minimum of three days
until the gas company placed a snow fence around the pool to restrict
access.
Subsequent tests of the wastewater found that it contained chloride,
iron, sulfate, barium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium,
strontium and calcium.
Redding said the main element of concern is the heavy metal strontium,
which can be toxic to humans, especially in growing children. The metal
takes a long time to pass through an animal’s system because it is
preferentially deposited in bone and released in the body at varying
rates, dependent on age, growth status and other factors. Live animal
testing was not possible because tissue sampling is required.
The secretary also added that the quarantine will follow the
recommended guidelines from the Food Animal Residue Avoidance and
Depletion Program, as follows:
- Adult animals: hold from food chain for 6 months.
- Calves exposed in utero: hold from food chain for 8 months.
- Growing calves: hold from food chain for 2 years.
In response to the leak, the Department of Environmental Protection
issued a notice of violation to East Resources Inc. and required
further sampling and site remediation. DEP is evaluating the final
cleanup report and is continuing its investigation of operations at the
drilling site, as well as the circumstances surrounding the leaking
holding pond.