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UNBOSSED
So, you think that natural gas is a `clean fuel'? Well, think again. In fact, it may be killing you right now.
As natural gas drilling explodes around the western United States, very few people seem to be asking: what are the potential public health issues associated with this new form of industrialization? Today, I begin a two-part series on the health effects of natural gas drilling in the United States and what that means to the families who are increasingly in the path of this monstrous and unstudied enterprise. What will be the effects of natural gas drilling on our collective health? What will this mean for our health care system in the near future?
Will this industry result in a host of multi-generational diseases and health afflictions unparallel in American history?
Yes.
An awesome and dangerous experiment is being enacted on the American people without a hint of discussion, forewarning or consideration. A toxic stew is being deliberately injected into our air, drinking water and blood streams without our knowledge or consent. We are all at risk.
Today, in Part I, I will describe the different points of air, soil and water contamination that occur during drilling and production. Then I will discuss some of the toxins associated with this industry and the effects they have on the human body. Tomorrow, in Part II, I will describe the actual, on the ground impacts many families are encountering at the hands of this largely unregulated industry.
"Higher levels of ethane than we've seen in any city samples ever taken."
- From a UC Irvine study of a CBM field in poor and rural northwestern NM
"We were surprised"
- New Mexico Environment Dept. Official upon review of the UC Irvine study
SURPRISED?!?!? Natural gas development is one of the most toxic industries we have in our nation today. Natural gas and its sister coalbed methane (CBM) are typically located in pockets deep underground. Obtaining these gases involved drilling into these rock formations and releasing the gas so that it can be pumped or allowed to flow to the surface. Both air and water pollution occurs at all stages of this development. Lets look at the stages of drilling one by one and analyze the pollution released at each stage.
1. Drilling: During the drilling process, "drilling mud" is circulated into the borehole to keep the drill bit cool and lubricated. This fluid also serves to bring the rock debris from the drilling to the surface. During completion of the drilling, these muds are typically removed.
Potential Contamination: Air pollution is released at all stages of development. These pollutants typically included benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, methane, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter. In most states, oil and gas operations are not required to obtain air quality permits nor have emission controls. Thus, the amount and type of pollutants from the nearly 100,000 wells across the country are not known. What is known is that these chemicals and toxins can cause asthma, cancer, severe and permanent neurological damage, pulmonary reduction, coronary problems, endocrine disruption and debilitating headaches.
Gas released by the drilling is flared into the air, setting the first stage of health effects associated with production. Exhaust fumes from drilling equipment also contaminate air. The "drilling muds" are typically stored in pits on site. These pits are generally unregulated. Often, they are dumped in bermed pools and then bulldozed over after completion. These muds contain chemical additives, salts, metals, hydrocarbons, radioactive materials and undisclosed proprietary chemicals - all of which can sterilize the soil and be lifted into the atmosphere. These contaminants often leach into the soil or spill out of the storage pits contaminating both underground and surface water.
2. Stimulation and Hydraulic Fracturing: to obtain the gas from the underground geology, it is often necessary to "fracture" the target formation. This involves pumping high-pressure fluids into the rock formation that holds the gas. The point here is to fracture the geology to allow the gas to flow out into the well casing. Generally, these fluids, which may include diesel fuel and other highly toxic chemicals, flow back into the well casing to be pumped to the surface while sand or recycled glass balls are pumped into the structure to keep the formation open.
Potential Contamination: exhaust fumes from heavy equipment, flaring from venting of unused gas, wastes stored in pits typically contains volatile chemicals that escape into the atmosphere. Surface spills of the fracturing fluid us not uncommon. Fracturing fluids may be inadvertently injected into or come in contact with fresh water aquifers. These fluids may include biocides, diesel fuel, acids, metals, ethylene glycol, corrosion inhibitors and dozens of other chemicals. Waste fluids stored above ground in pits may contaminate surface or groundwater if pits leak or overflow.
Hydraulic fracturing is one of the more dangerous aspects of natural gas production. Americans get over half their drinking water from underground sources, especially in the rural West where most of this drilling is occurring. In 2005, industry was granted an exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act making this the only industry allowed to directly inject toxic fluids directly into your drinking water without oversight from the EPA. Few of the chemicals used in fracturing are required to be reported. Therefore, neither the government nor the public can evaluate the risks or the consequences of exposure to these chemicals.
3. Produced water: Particularly in regards to CBM drilling millions of gallons of water must be removed from the aquifer before methane will flow into the well casing (this complete depletion of groundwater, so vital in the arid West, is a serious matter to be dealt with in and of itself, but I will avoid this here to keep us focused). Over time as the aquifer is depleted the amount of water rising to the surface decrease. In conventional natural gas operations, however, water production often increases with time as the oil and gas are depleted. Produced water is piped of trucked to disposal ponds or underground injection wells - or, tragically, discharged on land or into surface waters.
Potential Contamination: When stored in open pits, volatile hydrocarbons like benzene escape into the air. The depletion of shallow aquifers may result in the migration of methane and H2S (a known neuro-toxin) from the soil into the air. Exhaust is created from water pumps powered by diesel fuel. Salts, metals, hydrocarbons and other chemical additives in the produced water will contaminate the soil if spilled on the surface or placed in unlined or leaky storage pits. The same pollutants can also escape and contaminate waters through pipeline breakages, leaks or movement of produced waters once reinvested into the freshwater aquifer.
4. Separation and Dehydration: once the gas in brought to the surface, it generally has to be separated from heavier hydrocarbons such as water, oil and natural gas liquids.
Potential Contamination: dehydrators and separators vent huge amounts of methane and other volatile organic compounds. Again, pits and storage tanks often leak or overflow, contaminating the soil. Wastewater often contains dissolved hydrocarbons, sands, salts, metals and other toxins that can contaminate surface and groundwater.
5. Gas Compression: to get the gas to market, it is placed in a pipeline that has to be pressurized to force it to its endpoint. Diesel or natural gas fired engine typically power this compression. Compression can occur both at the well site or at a central compression facility.
Potential Contamination: engine exhaust, venting of unused gas, spills, leaks.
Human Health at Risk
For a closer look, lets take just five of the hundreds of chemicals associated with natural gas development.
- Hydrogen Sulfide: H2S is typically associated with natural gas and CBM formations. This is the gas that smells like rotten eggs. H2S seriously aggravates existing respiratory conditions, causes central nervous system problems, spontaneous abortions, and cardiovascular system difficulties and, according to the research of Dr. Kaye Kilburn and others, can seriously and permanently damage neurological functions.
- BTEX: Benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylenes: Benzene and its associated chemicals are known carcinogens. Toluene may affect the reproductive and central nervous systems with ethylbenze and xylene may have respiratory and neurological effects.
- Heavy Metals: e.g. arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, etc.: these metals, which show up in the drilling muds, the vented gas fumes and the fracturing fluids, have a number of different health consequences such as skin problems, hair loss, kidney damage, high blood pressure, increased cancer, neurological damage and more.
- Nitrogen Oxides: NOx typically react with VOCs to form ground level ozone and smog with can trigger asthma and other respiratory problems. These can also react with other chemicals to for particulate pollution, which can damage lungs and cause respiratory illness, heart conditions and premature death. They are also known to react with common organic chemicals to form toxins that may cause biological mutations.
- Sulfur Dioxide: SO2, which typically comes from engine exhaust, reacts with other chemicals used in the drilling process to for particulate pollution with, as noted above, can damage lungs; cause respiratory illness, heart conditions and premature death.
`Not a big deal', you may say. `Hey, these oil and gas wells are so small that they can't emit THAT much pollution. In fact, they emit such small amounts that they aren't even required to be permitted.'
Well (no pun intended), they do emit a lot. And then there is the fact that there are 10,000-20,000 of these wells in an oil or gas field. These are unregulated wells. In the Farmington, NM area for example (this is the San Juan Basin, one of the larger producing areas of natural gas in the nation), this comes to an estimated 40,000 tons of unregulated toxins pumped into the air every year. 64% of VOCs in Farmington and over 50% of NOx in Farmington comes from the gas fields that surround and penetrate the city. This is an NOx equivalent of 3.5 MILLION CARS DRIVING 12,500 MILES A YEAR!
Serious stuff folks. Farmington, NM has one of the fastest growing rates of childhood asthma in the nation. 84ppb (parts per billion) is the legal limit for ozone. 50-60ppb can cause serious health problems. In the summer of 2000, Farmington had 9 days where the ozone level was less than 50ppb. In 2001, it was 4 days. In 2002, 0 days.
"Children living in communities with higher concentrations of acid vapor, ozone, NO2 and particulate matter have significantly reduced lung growth and development."
- NM Dept. of Health, 2005
Duh. Ya think?
"We have more students with asthma every year."
- 4th Grade Teacher, Aztec, NM (near Farmington)
"Those with the worst asthma started to suffer and "good" air quality levels as designated by the EPA."
- Journal of the AMA, October, 2003
"We don't believe in that."
- Industry representative at a public hearing in Farmington, NM after a physican spoke about the health effects of even low-level ozone have detrimental effects on people.
HEY JACKASS! This isn't faith-based science here. Its not a question of belief. In fact, a 1ppb increase in ozone can add $20/year/person to a communities health cost.
The fact is...
Natural gas and CBM development have severe and detrimental effects on wildlife populations, local economies and social norms - as well as on human health. All this, for a relatively small amount of gas that has essentially no effect on our nation's energy supply.
What we see happening now is a massive and dangerous experiment on the health of the American people - largely without their knowledge and without regulatory oversight. A public health catastrophe is being hoisted on the American people. Some effects are instantaneous but others will not become apparent for a decade or more. By then, this industry will be long gone and the crippling and expensive health effects of oil and gas development will be left for the rest of us to deal with.
Tomorrow, I will highlight some individual examples of the consequences of this public health experiment.
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