Rick Cappiello – ESC 233 – Professor Robert Link - 12/12/12

HYDROFRACKING

WHAT IS HYDROFRACKING?

Hydrofracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing, is a process of extracting natural gas from underlying shale rock.

Wells are drilled into the ground, first a vertical well then a horizontal well, going deep below the surface under these shale rock formations.

Using highly pressurized “fracking fluid”, it creates a fissure in the rock by which natural gas can escape to the surface.

An average fracking well uses 4.5-5 MILLION GALLONS of water

An average swimming pool contains 16,000 gallons of water

so a typical well uses 282-312 average size swimming pools of fresh water!!!

Then a mixture of sand and chemicals are added to that water.. To be fair, fracking fluids composition of chemicals totals < 1% of the

overall mixture. Still, these chemicals include benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene,

and a combination of nitrogen oxides. Contact with these chemicals can lead to several health problems such as

skin, eye, and sensory organ problems, respiratory problems, gastrointestinal or liver problems, brain and nervous system problems, and cardiovascular health problems.

WHAT IS FRACKING FLUID?

Thousands of Chemicals can get into our water supply (and already have in some areas)

Thousands of gallons of water can deplete rivers and streams and can affect our water supply

The chemically composed water known as “fracking fluid” has to go somewhere, and we don’t have the capability to deal with the large amounts of chemicals, so they’ve been ending up in rivers, streams, and in the ground, leaking into the groundwater!!!

HOW BAD IS IT?

WHERE ARE THEY GETTING ALL OF THIS WATER FROM TO OPERATE

THESE WELLS?

As of 2009, several rivers in Pennsylvania were already extensively pumped from Natural Gas companies.  

Sugarcamp Run and Cross Creek are two rivers in western Pennsylvania where companies did not have any regulation on stream water use that fell victim of the huge amount of water needed to drill.   

Essentially water trucks could go to the nearest stream and pump all the water they want.

Drilling has already been going on in the Western United States.

Projects have commenced in, targeting the

Marcellus Shale Formation that underlies Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and

Southern New York

Hydrofracking Sites

About 385 million years ago, what is now western Pennsylvania was part of a large inland sea. Organisms died and dropped to this sea floor over time and mixed with sediments brought into the sea by rivers from the surrounding landmass. Over millions of years, as the continents moved and tectonic plates collided, mountains were formed, rivers were redirected, and the biological and inorganic sediments were buried under additional layers of rock, compressing them further. The extreme pressure and heat at greater depths converted the organic material into hydrocarbons, including those that make up natural gas. These hydrocarbons are not contained in reservoirs like oil, but rather are distributed throughout the shale in very thin layers and pores. This is why the rock must be fractured for the gas to escape.

How did the Marcellus Shale form?

The Marcellus Shale lies underneath about 90,000 square miles of Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and West Virginia. It lies at varying depths from the surface to 9,000 feet and is believed to

hold 500 hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Between January and June of 2011, Marcellus wells produced 432.5

billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Where does the water end up?

Anywhere from 30-70% of spent Fracking Fluid does not resurface during the drilling process!

Marcellus Shale Formation underlies the Delaware River Basin area that supplies water to roughly 16 million people, including those in New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh

The close proximity to big cities..

OUR PRECIOUS

SOURCE OF FRESH

WATER IS FACING MAJOR

THREATS!!!

In 2005, the Bush/Cheney Energy Bill exempted natural gas drilling from the Safe Drinking Water Act. It allows companies to disclose information

in regards to the chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing. Essentially, the provision took the EPA off the job. It is now commonly referred to as the

“Halliburton Loophole”

WHY WOULD THEY MAKE SUCH A RIDICULOUS EXEMPTION LIKE THIS?

The Halliburton Loophole

Do you trust Dick Cheney?

stock options had risen 3,281% between 2004-2005. Cheney owned over 400,000 shares of the companies

stock at that time.

This energy rich shale has been there for millions of years, until we extensively research and develop techniques that are 100% safe and do not threaten our water supply we can leave it alone.

The fact that there are already communities in existence out there suffering from the negative consequences of the extraction of natural gas is all the evidence I need to support my sentiment for fracking. Renewable energy is the way to go!

The Sun provides us with 20,000 times more energy than our global consumption.

Today, the technology produces less than one tenth of one percent of global energy demand.

The Fact of the Matter...

To Learn more about Hydrofracking visit:

www.THINKBEFOREYOUFRACK.org

www.SAFEWATERMOVEMENT.org

www.NYAGAINSTFRACKING.org

www.DONTFRACKWITHNY.com

www.EXPLORESHALE.org

Sarris E, Papanastasiou P. Modeling of Hydraulic Fracturing in a Poroelastic Cohesive Formation. International Journal Of Geomechanics [serial online]. April 2012;12(2):160-167. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 11, 2012. Willie M. Hydraulic Fracturing and "Spotty" Regulation: Why the Federal Government Should Let States Control Unconventional Onshore Drilling. Brigham Young University Law Review [serial online]. November 2011;2011(5):1743-1781. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 11, 2012 Chung, Huhnsik, and Gregory Hoffnagle. "The risks of hydrofracking: as the nation scrambles to feed its insatiable energy demand, a natural gas drilling method has become increasingly popular. But critics say it also carries significant environmental risks. Will insurance help mitigate exposure?" Risk Management June 2011: 32+. Academic OneFile. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. Goldstein, Bernard D., Jill Kriesky, and Barbara Pavliakova. "Missing from the table: role of the environmental public health community in governmental advisory commissions related to Marcellus Shale Drilling." Environmental Health Perspectives 120.4 (2012): 483+. Academic OneFile. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. Rush, Paul V. "The Threat from Hydrofracking." American Water Works Association.Journal 102.9 (2010): 26,28,30. OxResearch; ProQuest Central. Web. 11 Nov. 2012.

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