Hydrofracturing in the Natural-Gas Industry: Community, Occupational, and Environmental Impacts Update 2013 Theodore F. Them, MD,MS,PhD,MPH,FACOEM Chief, Section of Occupational & Environmental Medicine Board-certified, American Board of Preventive Medicine, in Occupational Medicine Board-certified, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1991-2001 Board-eligible, American Board of Internal Medicine, 2002-present Guthrie Clinic, Ltd. 1 Guthrie Square Sayre, Pennsylvania 18840 Telephone: (570) 887-2495 Telefax: (570) 887-3254 E-mail: them_theodore@guthrie.org 1 Conflict-of-Interest Statement 20/80/600 acres Leased 2008 Chesapeake Energy, StatOil, Andarko, & MEP Monthly royalties 20.98 acres Lease pending at time of this writing No related income at time of this writing 2 1
Evanston, Wyoming, on the Oregon Trail July 3, 1982 3 Goals To educate regarding: The basic nature of hydrofracturing in the natural-gas industry The processes of hydrofracturing in this industry The real community, occupational, and environmental impact(s), based on direct experiences, of these processes The impending future of shale fracturing 4 2
Objectives By the end of this presentation, the attendee should be able to: Access at least three (3) common, reliable sources on this topic Describe expected, and real, community impacts from these activities Repeat the expected, and real, occupational impacts from these activities Outline the expected, and real, environmental impacts from these activities Comment on the projected future of shalefracturing technologies 5 What goes into the wells? About 3 million gallons of water per fracturing job 0.11% of 3M is 3,300 gallons (of acid) Proppant = sand www.propublica.org/feature/gas-execs-call-for-disclosure-of-chemicals-used-in-hydraulic-fracturing-102 6 3
Combustion of Methane (stepwise) CH 4 + O 2 CO + H 2 + H 2 O 2 H 2 + O 2 2 H 2 O 2 CO + O 2 2 CO 2 The net result of the above is the following: CH 4 (g) + 2 O 2 (g) CO 2 (g) + 2 H 2 O(l) + 891 kj/mol (BOOM!!!) www.durangotexas.com/eyesontexas/fortworth/barnettshale.htm&usg= 1Sa6h2cBsOSW n6e30kbhqv_84fe=&h=343&w=250&sz=6&hl=en&start=12&itbs=1&tbnid=0w2gxd9 EgB7P8M:&tbnh=120&tbnw=87&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnatural%2Bgas%2Bwell%2B explosion%26hl%3den%26sa%3dg%26gbv%3d2%26tbs%3disch:1 7 Wellsite Blowouts www.globaltvedmonton.com/beyondthepodium/well +blow+near+ludwig+hythe+home/2607500/26087 09.bin?size=sw380nws www.energeticcity.ca/fortstjohn/files/u1/2009a/mas images.pennnet.com/articles/ogfj/thm/th_insurance thead-hytheblowout-feb-2.png coverage02.jpg 8 4
Radiation Sunburn, by far, will be the most common risk here. www.babble.com/cs/blogs/strollerderby/2009/01/chemicals.jpg 9 Radiation EMF (electromagnetic fields) Little known Low risk in this context Solar Sunburn secondary dehydration secondary electrolyte imbalance secondary infections z.about.com/d/chemistry/1/0/b/h/rad iationsymbol.jpg Associate, heat-related illnesses (HRIs), many Natural/background Subsurface formations may contain low levels of radioactive materials such as uranium and thorium and their daughter products (lower levels measured than in limestone used to construct drilling pads) Radium 226 Radium 228 www.earthworksaction.org/pubs/ogapmarcellusshalereport-6-12-08.pdf 10 5
Land Leases Started at $50/acre in 2008 Soon increased to ~ $200/acre Was, in 2010-11, typically $4000-5000/acre Farmer with 300 acres could then lease his land to drilling/production companies for $1.2-1.5M dollars + 18% royalty Now, $1500-1600/acre Same farm lease would be $450-480K + 16% royalty 11 Natural-gas Royalties Begin only after well has been produced (gas flowing) for at least 3 months Fluctuate with gas prices and flow rates Have ranged from 12.5-18% of owner s share of unit s production Sample calculation: (300 acres/600 acres) (10,000,000 ft 3 /day x 30 days/month x $3.50/1000 ft 3 ) x 0.18 = $94,500/month, or $1.134M/year 12 6
Occupational Impacts 13 Gasfield Workers Long hours 2-3 weeks on, followed by 2-3 weeks off Imported workers typically travel to their homes in other states during off times Dangerous work Many physical hazards Some chemical hazards Somewhat seasonal 14 7
Environmental Impacts 15 Many related studies in progress: Formal investigations Pennsylvania State University groundwater Duke University groundwater and human tissues Geisinger Medical Center, Guthrie Clinic, Ltd., and Susquehanna Health MIs and utilization of trauma services Final results not in on all cited studies Normative/historical databases lacking 16 8
Research Findings Marcellus drilling activity: only PA, OH, and WV PA ~11,000 wells WV ~ 1,100 wells OH ~ 460 wells (more Utica activity than Marcellus) No drilling activity in NY, MD, TN, KY, VA, or NJ HVHF activity in NY since 1980s, without incident HVHF now banned in NY by Gov. Cuomo NOT ONE, SINGLE CASE OF ADVERSE, DIRECT HUMAN-HEALTH IMPACT FROM HVHF DOCUMENTED BY ANY STATE OR FEDERAL ORGANIZATION QUERIED 17 Scenery: Pipelines At present, the natural-gaspipeline capacity in the Marcellus Shale region is inadequate to carry the volume of gas that will be produced. Several major pipelines are needed to transport millions of cubic feet of gas per day to high- population markets. In addition, thousands of miles of natural-gas- gathering systems must be built to connect individual wells to the major pipelines. geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml 18 9
Scenery (cont.): Pipelines 19 Remember this?: Comprehensive Study on the Matter 20 10
Key Findings from the Study Researchers found no evidence of aquifer contamination from hydraulic fracturing chemicals in the subsurface by fracturing operations and observed no leakage from hydraulic fracturing at depth Many reports of groundwater contamination occur in conventional oil and gas operations (e.g., failure of well-bore casing and cementing) and are not unique to hydraulic fracturing. Methane found in water wells within some shale-gas areas (e.g., Marcellus) can most likely be traced to natural sources and likely was present before the onset of shale-gas operations. Surface spills of fracturing fluids appear to pose greater risks to groundwater sources than from hydraulic fracturing itself. Blowouts uncontrolled fluid releases during construction or operation are a rare occurrence, but subsurface blowouts appear to be under-reported. energy.utexas.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=151&itemid=71 21 Duke University July 2012 - re brine contamination of groundwater Marcellus Shale Central, July 13, 2012, p. 3. 22 11
Land and Water Studies suggest risk of groundwater contamination from hydrofracturing is present only in the vertical component Equivalent to risks involved in drilling any vertical well for any purpose Early cases of pollution few and due to poor execution of standard methods Am aware of one case of this, 70 miles away, 4 wells 23 Land and Water (cont.) 24 12
Land and Water (cont.) 25 Air Some studies suggest ~ 3% leakage rate of natural gas from wells Studies pending for northern PA Some leakage is via natural, underground fissures 26 13
Air One case in 5 years from the allergy lady, regarding her concerns over the chemicals, none of which she could specify Admits allergies to trees, weeds, pollens, spores, dust, dust mites, cats, dogs, hay, etc. Never formally skin tested Concerned about recent sinusitis, confirmed by ENT as secondary to allergic/perennial rhinitis Very dry summer Pollen counts very high Demanded that I confirm her pain and suffering toward compensation 27 Alternatives to Hydrofracturing Propane fracturing www.wicz.com/news2005/viewarticle.asp?a=18229 28 14
Alternatives to Hydrofracturing (cont.) Cavitation hydrovibration smarteconomy.typepad.com/smart_economy/2009/12/a-green-alternative-to-chemicalbased-hydraulic-fracturing-or-fracking-for-shale-gas-drillingcavitati.html 29 Summary More people have translated to more injuries and illnesses Common things have been common, but there have been more of them Individual injuries have been plentiful Mass casualties may yet result The denominator has not been accurately captured, making the calculations of related incidences and prevalences elusive We are not seeing frequent complaints of gasfield-related illnesses, either from the gasfield workers or from the local residents Common, local complaints from residents include Traffic Noise Road deterioration 30 15
Summary (cont.) There are many, many physical, chemical, biological, plant-derived, animal-derived, and radiation risks of varying intensities - to gasfield workers and neighboring homes/residents Many of the physical and chemical risks have been mitigated by appropriate safety and engineering programs Many of the chemical risks cannot yet be fully identified or mitigated The biological risks may be both local and imported Radiation risks are currently thought to be minimal; intense research on this matter is ongoing 31 Summary (cont.) Community and occupational impacts have been Numerous Palpable Fluctuant ( boom/bust; now not-boom/not-bust ) Generally predictable Environmental impacts have been Numerous Fluctuant Visible and audible Generally without major effect on local groundwater Few exceptions Background methane more common than thought 32 16
Summary (cont.) Newer and future technologies will further mitigate many of the related occupational and environmental risks and impacts It is too early to characterize the collective aftermath 33 Questions? 34 17
The End Thank You! 35 18