THE CASE AGAINST HYDROFRACKING - Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 61

average citizen identify potential pollutants, and the measure remains controver-
sial—especially a caveat noted by the EPA: “All information submitted pursuant
to EPCRA regulations is publicly accessible, unless protected by a trade secret
claim.” 54
In studying hydrofracking fluids, Dr. Theo Colborn and her colleagues at the
Endocrine Disruption Exchange in Colorado identified nearly 1,000 chemical
products and some 650 individual chemicals in fracking fluids. At least 59 of these
chemicals, and probably more, have been used to frack wells in New York State.
Of these, 40 of the 59 chemicals (or 67.8 percent) had “the potential to cause mul-
tiple adverse health effects,” and 19 (32.2 percent) cause “deleterious effects on the
environment,” according to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics. 55
How Is Flowback Disposed of?
As noted in chapter 1 , about 33,000 natural gas wells are drilled each year, and 90
percent of them employ hydrofracking. 56 This translates into billions of gallons of
potentially hazardous fluids being used annually. The chemicals and proppants ad-
ded to the fluid, and naturally occurring contaminants, such as boron, barium, ra-
dium, and salts—including highly saline brine that dates to the Paleozoic era in the
Marcellus Shale—stirred up by the drilling process. 57 (Salts can kill vegetation.)
The result is flowback, a murky liquid, thick with salts, sulfur, chemicals, minerals,
and proppants; it smells of sulfur, and sometimes contains low levels of radiation.
Flowback is comprised of as little as 3 percent and as much as over 80 percent of
the total amount of water and other materials used to fracture a well, according to
the industry-backed website FracFocus.org. 58
The flowback generally gets pumped into a pit, then into a separator tank that
allows oil to surface; oil is skimmed off and sold. The remaining flowback needs
to be carefully disposed of, which is where things get tricky.
Most states dispose of fluids by pumping them deep underground, into injection
wells (which are distinct from gas and oil wells). 59 These deposits are regulated
by EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act. But the geologic formations under
Pennsylvania—the East Coast's test case for hydrofracking—are unsuitable for
injection wells. 60 Further, Pennsylvania produces so much wastewater that it
threatens to overwhelm injection wells in neighboring Ohio. 61 Flowback and pro-
duced water are therefore commonly stored in large tanks, holding ponds (for evap-
oration), or, more often, sent by pipeline or truck to public wastewater treatment