Gas in the Water
Study finds methane, but not chemicals from fracking
Wheeling WV Intelligencer
10 May 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) - New research is providing some of the first
scientific evidence that a controversial gas drilling technique can
contaminate drinking water.
The study published Monday found potentially dangerous concentrations
of methane gas in water from wells near drilling sites in northeastern
Pennsylvania, although not in central New York, where gas drilling is
less extensive.
But in an unexpected finding, the team of Duke University scientists
did not find any trace of the chemicals used in the hydraulic
fracturing process in 68 wells tested in Pennsylvania and Otsego County
in central New York.
In hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, water, sand and chemicals are
injected underground to crack the rock and get natural gas to flow into
a well. Critics of the technique have worried more about the chemicals
since companies have refused to make public the proprietary blends used
and some of the ingredients can be toxic.
On average, water from wells located less than a mile from drilling
sites had 17 times more methane than water tested from wells farther
away, according to the study published Monday in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.
Methane is not known to be toxic, but in high concentrations it can be
explosive and cause unconsciousness and even death, since it displaces
oxygen needed to breathe.
Of the 60 wells tested for methane gas, 14 had levels of methane within
or above a hazard range set by the Department of Interior for gas
seeping from coal mines - all but one of them near a gas well. In nine
wells, concentrations were so high that the government would recommend
immediate action to reduce the methane level.
Methane is released naturally by bacteria as they break down organic
matter. The researchers' analysis shows that the type of methane in the
wells with the highest concentrations is coming from deep in the earth,
the same place tapped by companies in search of natural gas.
In the most severe case, a homeowner in Bradford County, Pa., who
leased her property to a gas company, has so much methane coming out of
her tap she can light her water on fire. A natural gas well is located
800 feet from her house.
"Not every homeowner within a kilometer (of a drilling site) will have
high methane concentrations," said Stephen Osborn, a postdoctoral
associate at Duke University's Center on Global Change. "If you are a
homeowner within a kilometer, and our study shows this, I would be a
little bit concerned."
What the study does not say is how exactly the methane is getting into
drinking water sources, and what part of the drilling is potentially
involved. While wells closer to drilling sites had more methane, most
of the wells in the study - 85 percent - had some.
Industry groups on Monday faulted the research, saying it did not show
that fracking itself was behind the methane contamination, nor did the
researchers conduct before-and-after tests to prove the contamination
occurred after drilling. The authors themselves suspect that the
methane is likely flowing up the sides of the gas well - rather than
down pathways created by hydraulic fracturing.
"The authors admit they have no baseline data at all, which makes it
impossible to characterize the state of those water wells prior to
recent development," said Chris Tucker, a spokesman for Energy in
Depth, a national coalition of independent gas producers.
The industry also was critical of the paper's editor, William H.
Schlesinger, who selected the study's outside reviewers. Schlesinger, a
biogeochemist and president of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
in Millbrook, N.Y, has supported moratoriums in New York on hydraulic
fracturing permits until its effects are completely understood.Study
participants in northeastern Pennsylvania hoped the research would help
settle the debate.
Sherry Vargson's drinking water well in Bradford County had the highest
levels of methane detected in the study.
The bubbles of methane gas, which she describes as looking like
Alka-Seltzer coming out of the tap, did not start until 14 months after
the well was drilled.
The company who leased her property, Chesapeake Energy Corp., has
bottled water delivered.
"I still think it can be done safely, but there are too many shortcuts
being taken," she said.