NO SURPRISE
THERE: STUDY FINDS MANY CONTAMINANTS IN NATURAL GAS WASTEWATER: AMMONIUM,
IODIDE, HIGH LEVELS OF SALTS, BARIUM AND RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS, IN ADDITION TO
MAN-MADE CHEMICALS.
Source: The Charleston Gazette (WV), January 14, 2015
In a paper published today, the Duke scientists said
they found ammonium and iodide in wastewater from treatment sites in
Pennsylvania and from a spill from a storage tank at a site in West Virginia.
“This discovery raises new concerns about the
environmental and human health impacts of oil and gas wastewater in areas where
it is discharged or leaked directly into the environment,” said Avner Vengosh,
professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the
Environment.
The peer-reviewed study, published in the journal
Environmental Science & Technology, is the first to document the presence
of high levels of ammonium and iodide in oil and gas wastewater.
When dissolved in water, ammonium can convert to
ammonia, which is highly toxic to aquatic life. Elevated iodide in surface
water can promote the formation of highly toxic byproducts in drinking water
when it mixes with the chlorine used to disinfect the water and municipal
treatment plants.
Previous studies have shown that fluids from natural gas
production activities — including hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” — contain
high levels of salts, barium and radioactive elements, in addition to man-made
chemicals added in the process of hydraulic fracturing.
As part of their study, the Duke researchers examined
material that was collected after a January 2014 incident in Tyler County, West
Virginia, in which a tank at a natural gas site burst and released fluids.
These fluids migrated beyond the well pad containment and into the adjacent
stream, Big Run Creek.
During the legislative session that starts today,
lawmakers are expected to consider proposals that would exempt some or all oil
and gas industry above-ground storage tanks from the provisions of a new state
tank safety law passed after last year’s Freedom Industries chemical spill.