Risk analysts have confirmed that there is a significant potential risk of river and other types of water pollution due to the release of contaminated wastewater by hydraulic fracturing or fracking wells generating natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region.
According to the analysts, additional mandatory steps need to be taken by regulators and others to decrease the potential contamination of drinking water due to the disposal of salts and radioactive materials by the rapidly growing fracking industry. In the fracking process, fluids are pumped into shale formations to generate pockets of natural gas, which are then transported to the surface through pumping. Besides promoting energy independence and creating jobs, the practice also generates a considerable amount of wastewater.
The analysts, doctoral student Daniel Rozell and associate professor Dr. Sheldon Reaven from Stony Brook University, have reported their results in a paper entitled ‘Water Pollution Risk Associated with Natural Gas Extraction from the Marcellus Shale,’ which featured in Risk Analysis, a journal of the Society for Risk Analysis. Release of huge quantities of fracking well wastewater that is anticipated to be produced in the Marcellus Shale region covering roughly 124,000 km2 from New York to West Virginia poses greater risks due to its much higher concentration of salts and radioactive materials, when compared to other potential water contamination pathways analyzed in the new study.
The analysts stated that since many industrial wastewater treatment facilities are not equipped to treat hydraulic fracturing wastewater, disposal of this wastewater through these facilities can increase contamination levels in rivers and streams. They have used the ‘probability bounds analysis’ to study the effect of water pollution by fracking operations in the Marcellus Shale region.
There would be 40,000 wells, even if a mere 10% of the Marcellus Shale region is developed. Based on the best-case median risk calculation developed by Rozell and Reaven, the polluted wastewater volume will be equal to a few thousand Olympic-sized swimming pools or several hours flow of the Hudson River, thus representing a substantial potential risk.
The analysts recommended that additional steps must be taken to reduce this risk. Regulators must look at the option of mandating other fracturing methods and processes such as nitrogen-based and liquefied petroleum gas fracturing methods to lower the wastewater generation and pollution from shale gas extraction in the Marcellus Shale.
Source: http://www.sra.org
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