Marcellus Watch: A river of waste
Article on a study by Stony Brook University scientists that identifies the biggest problem with horizontal drilling as wastewater disposal:
" It analyzes water pollution risks associated with high-volume horizontal hydrofracking of the Marcellus Shale, and it pinpoints the biggest problem: disposing of fracking wastewater.
The study was written by Stony Brook doctoral student Daniel Rozell and Dr. Sheldon Reaven, a professor in the Department of Technology and Society and the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. It appeared in the August 2012 issue of the journal Risk Analysis, published by the Society for Risk Analysis.
Rozell and Reaven used probability bounds analysis to rate five potential pathways for water contamination related to fracking. They concluded that four of those pathways - all furiously debated in public - were several orders of magnitude less significant than the disposal challenge.
Yes, gas well casings often leak. Yes, wastewater trucks tip over and spill. Yes, over time, toxic substances might even seep up from deep horizontal wells into fresh water aquifers near the surface. And yes, once in a while, a well pad waste containment pond or tank might fail and cause a major local spill.
But those types of problems - significant though they are - are almost negligible next to the big-ticket item of wastewater disposal.
Even in a best-case scenario, one Marcellus well could release at least 200 cubic meters of contaminated fluids, the scientists found.
Given typical well spacing in the Marcellus Shale, if only 10 percent of the region (parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia) is developed, this would equate to 40,000 wells, the report concludes. Using the best-case median risk determined above, the volume of contaminated water would equate to several hours of flow of the Hudson River or a few thousand Olympic-sized swimming pools.
full article at http://www.the-leader.com/newsnow/x255965316/Marcellus-Watch-A-river-of-waste