NPR has been investigating the claims of the Hydraulic Fracturing Industry this week, mostly in a clinical, journalistic manner. No 'hearts and flowers' ad sponsors to worry about I guess.
One of the stories got my attention, science-guy and history-guy that I am ...
That was their story about fracking's unexpected problem:
Old abandoned wells.
They described Pennsylvania as being like a "pin cushion",
with many of the old wells locations no longer known or mapped.
They can act like a relief value for the fracking fluids, when used nearby.
Surprise, surprise. Ooops!
No worries though corporate-people, NatGas has a Cheney-exclusion on that one too, I would suspect. What do you think those "secret energy meetings" were all about ... anyways?
It's only toxic ... to living things ...
With Gas Boom, Pennsylvania Fears New Toxic Legacy
by Christopher Joyce, NPR -- May 14, 2012
[...]
VanBriesen also wonders about what happens to all the frack water that's left underground. Pennsylvania is already a pin cushion. Oil and gas drilling has gone on for over a century here, long before fracking arrived.
"There are lots of holes in Pennsylvania," she says. "Knowing where the old ones are is very important when you're putting in a new one."
George Jugovic Jr., who runs the environmental group PennFuture, says the location of a lot of those wells is unknown. "We have over 300,000 oil or gas wells that have been abandoned," he says, "that are out there somewhere, that have not been properly plugged and that can serve as conduits for contamination to migrate up into existing groundwater."
Brian Grove of Chesapeake argues that it's unlikely that the water left behind in the Marcellus shale layer could ever contaminate groundwater -- it would have to travel upward at least a mile through rock. But a study by the Ground Water Protection Council of fracking water in Texas and Ohio found that water used in drilling has in fact come back up through old, unplugged wells.
[...]
Water Balloon -- Meet straight pin.
Don't burst.
It's not supposed to. The Industry Spokespersons assure us we have nothing to worry about.
"There are Miles of Rock capping all that hazardous Fracking Fluid."
(Psst ... Only the Earth will know anyways ... ya know?)
Hmmm? Where have we heard that one before?
What us worry?
I saw a hypnotic reassuring Ad recently -- that TOLD me this was our future. No Problem.
Energy Consumers -- meet your Frack Supplier. Surprise, surprise ... same stuff, different day.