Slideshow giving basic information on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), proposal for shale gas extraction in Ireland and the environmental, community and economic issues associated
16. WHAT 50,000 LITRES OF CHEMICALS LOOK LIKE White plastic cube-shaped containers of frack chemicals on tractor trailers
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18. WHAT’S IN THAT DUST? Fumes and dust spewing from the mixing area
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20. ACCIDENTS: “FRACKING TRUCK RUNS OFF ROAD; CONTENTS SPILL” (WASHINGTON COUNTY) Spill workers herding cattle away from the stream since cattle like to drink salty brine wastewater October 2010
25. WHAT WE COULD BE LEFT WITH An aerial view of a Shale Gas production area
Notes de l'éditeur
Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
Formed from mud laid down in layers. Originates millions of years ago, usually in slow-moving waters, where clay was deposited little by little. Shale often contains fossils. Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments ( silt -sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite . During the immature, or biological, stage of petroleum formation, biogenic methane (often called marsh gas) is produced as a result of the decomposition of organic material by the action of anaerobic microbes. These microorganisms cannot tolerate even traces of oxygen and are also inhibited by high concentrations of dissolved sulfate. Consequently, biogenic gas generation is confined to certain environments that include poorly drained swamps and bays, some lake bottoms, and marine environments beneath the zone of active sulfate reduction. Gas of predominantly biogenic origin is thought to constitute more than 20 percent of the world's gas reserves. Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
Enegi Oil ( LON:ENEG ) has been given an option over 495-square kilometres in the Clare Basin. Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
The hole is lined with concrete and a perforating gun is lowered to the end of the well. The gun fires off explosions that pierce the concrete and open up microfractures in the shale. Millions of gallons of high-pressure water mixed with sand, plus small amounts of additives known as fracking chemicals are pumped down the well, releasing the gas. Haliburton figure for amount of water. Other sources say much more – up to 13 million gallons per well. Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
Friction reducers decrease pumping friction , e.g. polyacrylamide. Degrades to acrylamide, lethal neurotoxin + carcinogen Fluid can be pumped down the well-bore as fast as 100 bbl/min. to fracture the shale. Without using slickwater the top speed of pumping is around 60 bbl/min. Elevated temperatures (35 °C) caused a significant release of up to 144 μg l −1 of acrylamide and 453 μg l −1 of acrylic acid in new gel and up to 25 μg l −1 of acrylamide and 157 μg l −1 of acrylic acid in field-conditioned gels. Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969704004681#toc11 Environmental: Cationic and neutral PAMs, however, have greater toxicities and should not be used. The charged nature of cationic PAM hydrogel is attracted to hemoglobin in fish gills, where the gel binds and suffocates the fish. In addition to fish, a variety of algal and invertebrate species are also injured or killed when exposed to low levels of cationic PAMs. Since cationic PAMs may also contain higher levels of acrylamide monomer, many researchers recommend against any environmental use of cationic PAM hydrogels and in fact use of these compounds is illegal in a number of municipalities where aquatic contamination is likely. Source: http://plantbest.com/?page=shop/mediaRoomDetail&mediaID=34&ps_session=ecde8492d3decf9b8feef47160fba06e Biocides kill bacteria underground, e,g, quaternary ammonium chloride Oxygen scavengers prevent pipe corrosion, e.g. Acids remove drilling mud damage e.g. hydrochloric acid Gelling agents improve suspension of sand in water, e.g. guar gum Corrosion inhibitors, e.g. acetaldehyde http://fracfocus.org/ Glutaraldehyde (CAS No. 111-30-8) is a biocide used widely in drilling and fracturing fluids. Along with its antimicrobial effects, it is a potent respiratory toxin effective at parts-per-billion (ppb) concentrations (38); a sensitizer in susceptible people, it has induced occupational asthma and/or contact dermatitis in workers exposed to it, and is a known mutagen (i.e., a substance that may induce or increase the frequency of genetic mutations) (38, 39). It is readily inhaled or absorbed through the skin. In the environment, algae, zooplankton and steelhead trout were found to be dramatically harmed by glutaraldehyde at very low (1 – 5 ppb) concentrations (40). Dimethylformamide toxic carcinogen Ammonium bisulphite irritating to skin and eyes Down-winder’s syndrome http://63.134.196.109/documents/RiskAssessmentNaturalGasExtraction.pdf Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
Methane that caused a blast in a Dimock water well, forced a family to evacuate their home and bubbled up in the Susquehanna River was unsettled from porous rock between the surface and the Marcellus Shale as drillers searched for deep gas. Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/stray-gas-plagues-nepa-marcellus-wells-1.1173187#ixzz1SNYKPUGc 7 incidents per 1,000 wells in 2010 Finavera Gas has recently undertaken studies which show there is also potential for conventional natural gas exploration in the (Lough Allen) basin. Where increased porosity could exist by virtue of depth, a conventional drilling target has been indentified on a newly discovered but untested seismic anomaly in the basin. Connection? Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
(State Department of Environmental Conservation, US) Multiple tanks, diesel fumes, noise, bright lights, constant truck traffic, noxious odours, massive pipelines, injection wells, landfarms, waste pits, frack pits, compressor stations, tank farms, water depletion, water contamination, spills, processing plants… Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
EU impacts doc Experiences in North America Possible water contaminations might be induced by Spills of drilling mud, flowback and brine, from tailings or storage tanks causing water contamination and salinization. Leaks or accidents from surface activities, e.g. leaking fluid or waste water pipes or ponds, unprofessional handling or old equipment. Leaks from inadequate cementing of the wells. Leaks through geological structures, either through natural or through artificial cracks or pathways. Actually, most of the complaints against hydraulic fracturing are because of possible groundwater contamination. Basically, besides specific spills and accidents the intrusion of fracturing fluids or methane from the deeper structures is in the focus. Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
The emissions potentially originate from the following sources: Emissions from trucks and drilling equipment (noise, particulates, SO2, NOx, NMVOC and CO); Emissions from natural gas processing and transportation (noise, particulates, SO2, NOx, NMVOC and CO); Evaporative emissions of chemicals from waste water ponds; Emissions due to spills and well blow outs (dispersion of drilling or fracturing fluids combined with particulates from the deposit). The operation of drilling equipment consumes large amounts of fuels which are burnt to emit CO2. Also, some fugitive emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas, might occur during production, processing and transport. http://www.scribd.com/doc/55017063/Desmog-Fracking-the-Future Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
Glenwood Reseaarch 2011
Naturally occurring radioactive materials such as uranium, thorium and radium bound in the rock are transported to the surface with flow-back fluid It is well known that hydraulic fracturing can induce small earthquakes in the order of 1 – 3 at the Richter scale. [Aduschkin 2000] For instance, in Arkansas, USA, the rate of small earthquakes has increased over the last years tenfold. [AGS 2011] Concerns rose that these are induced by the steep increase in drilling activities in the Fayetteville Shale. Also, the Fort Worth region has experienced at least 18 smaller earthquakes since December 2008. The city of Cleburne alone experienced 7 earthquakes between June and July 2009 in an area where during the 140 years before no earthquake at all was registered. [Michaels 2010] In April 2011, the city of Blackpool in the UK experienced a small earthquake (1.5 at the Richter scale) which was followed in June 2011 by a larger one (2.5 at the Richter scale). The company ‘Cuadrilla Resources’ which was conducting hydraulic fracturing operations in the earth quake area, stopped its operations and commissioned an investigation of the issue. It announced that it would cease its operations in case a relation of the earthquakes to its drilling activities would be shown. [Nonnenmacher 2011] In Onondaga County, New York, the radioactive substance radon (222Rn) was measured in indoor air in the basements of 210 homes. All of the homes underlain by Marcellus shale had indoor air levels of 222Rn above 148 Bq/m³, and the average concentration in these homes was 326 Bq/m³4, which is more than twice the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ‘action level’ (i.e. the level at which it is recommended that homeowners try to reduce the radon concentration) of 148 Bq/m³. The average indoor radon level in the USA is 48 Bq/m³. [Sumi 2008] An increase by 100 Bq/m³ of air leads to an increase of lung cancer of 10%. [Zeeb et al 2009] http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2011/01/05/fracking-the-life-out-of-arkansas-and-be Glenwood Reseaarch 2011