THE CASE AGAINST HYDROFRACKING - Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 59

Naturally occurring methane is considered “biogenic” (created by organic material
decomposition), as opposed to “thermogenic” (created through the thermal decom-
position of buried organic material). Biogenic methane is found at shallow depths,
where water wells are typically drilled; energy companies usually pursue the deep-
er thermogenic methane. Through the use of isotope analysis, the methane in water
can be identified as either biogenic or thermogenic, thereby determining if it is the
result of natural causes or drilling.
A government study done in Colorado concluded that the methane gas tapped
by drillers had migrated into dozens of water wells, possibly through natural faults
and fissures exacerbated by hydrofracking. Dennis Coleman, an Illinois geologist
and expert on molecular testing, has witnessed methane gas seeping underground
for more than seven miles—many times what the industry says should be pos-
sible. “There is no such thing as 'impossible' in terms of migration,” Coleman told
ProPublica. “Like everything else in life, it comes down to the probability.” 45
Are the Chemicals in Hydrofracking Fluids Harmful?
The mantra of the energy industry is, as Energy in Depth puts it, that hydrofracking
fluid is “greater than 99 percent … water and sand, and the fraction of what remains
includes many common industrial and even household materials that millions of
American consumers use every day.” 46 Most of those chemicals, say industry
boosters, are no more harmful than “what's underneath your kitchen sink.” 47
While some of the chemicals are common and benign—sodium chloride (used
in table salt), borate salts (used in cosmetics), or guar gum (used to make ice
cream)—others contain toxic additives—such as benzene (a carcinogen) or the
solvent 2-Butoxyethanol, known as 2-BE. 48 While they comprise a tiny percentage
of the mixture, hazardous exposure to some of these chemicals is measured in the
parts per million.
The most common chemical, used in particular between 2005 and 2009, was
methanol; other widely used chemicals included isopropyl alcohol,
2-Butoxyethanol, ethylene glycol, hydrochloric acid, petroleum distillates, and eth-
anol. 49 (For a list of chemicals known to have been used in hydrofracking, see the
appendix at the end of this topic.) Drillers tend to disclose only enough informa-
tion about their fracking fluids to comply with worker-safety regulations. This usu-
ally consists of a product's trade name and rarely includes a complete list of con-
stituents. A 2011 congressional report found that of 2,500 hydrofracking chemicals