The Real Cost of Fracking (35 page)

environmental justice: and debate on energy use, 174; disproportionate burden on the rural poor from fracking, 152–53; local town boards vs. residents in some areas, 151–52; power of landowners to control drilling, 150–51; prevalence of NIMBYism, 149; and promise of positive economic outcomes from shale drilling, 149–50; and state restrictions on local governments, 151; zoning laws and the principle of home rule, 151

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): environmental justice goal, 149; hydraulic fracturing study, 7–9; MCL designation by, 61–62, 204n26; water-testing practices, 26–27, 60, 107

EPA/ATSDR, 61

ethanol, 50

ethylbenzene, 43, 161

ethylene glycol, 50, 188

farmland disruption.
See
Davidson, Wade and Sharon

Finger Lakes region, New York, 1–2

flowback, 7, 8, 27, 57, 71, 91, 133

fluoranthene, 60

Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD), 115–16

food production and drilling operations: blow-out hazards to plants and wildlife, 72–73, 131, 136, 142; coexistence of, in Pennsylvania, 97; and compulsory integration law in New York, 99, 100–101, 206n8; contamination of food animals, 103–4; and difficulty in determining the cause of animals’ illnesses, 104–5; and farmers’ goal of controlling their own land, 98–99; and farmers’ rationale for not testing, 105, 106; farmland disruption (
see
Davidson, Wade and Sharon); lack of medical knowledge of effects of drilling chemicals, 105–6; lack of testing for chemical contamination, 103; and land-lease laws in Pennsylvania, 99–101; logic of testing for PAHs and radium-226, 107–8; political support for drilling in Pennsylvania, 98; potential for food contamination from gas drilling on farms, 101–2; presence of human carcinogens in drilling waste, 106–7; ramifications of contamination for organic farmers, 106; wastewater penetration into crops and plants, 72–73; water availability in some drilling areas, 108–9

formate, 62

fossil fuels: anthropogenic climate change and, 174–75; challenge of transition to renewable energy, 177; debate on energy use, 174; disincentives for energy storage by consumers, 178; government subsidies to the industry, 175–77; policy recommendations, 180; political roadblocks to renewable energy, 176; ways to move away from, 177–79.
See also
oil and gas industry

FracFocus website, 27, 71, 126, 187

Fredonia, New York, 87

friction reducers, 43, 187

FRW-200, 43

gag orders.
See
nondisclosure agreements

gas drilling.
See
shale gas drilling

gas-well flaring: anecdotal evidence of ill health effects from, 161; impact on air quality, 63, 161–62; purpose and duration of, 5, 184

gelling agents, 43

German Passivhaus standard, 179

Germany, 177, 178

glutaraldehyde, 46, 122, 188

“Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania,” 128

greenhouse gases, 141, 175

Halliburton, 8

Hart, William, 87

Healey, Ben, 176

health effects of drilling operations: and aerator use, 46–47, 53; and air-testing practices, 29; and anecdotal evidence of ill effects, 11; for animals (
see
animal health effects of drilling operations); basis of the argument that fracking is safe, 171; chemicals released during gas flaring operations, 161–62; children’s and animals’ vulnerability to environmental hazards, 10–11, 16, 19–20; conditions of nondisclosure agreements, 22; correlation between exposure and illness, 21–22, 25, 26, 49, 55–56, 74, 77–78, 85–86, 88, 143–44, 160–62, 166–67; diagnosis of heavy metal poisoning in a boy, 48–49; hazards from wastewater spread on roads, 24; health improvements after clean water is available, 51–52; ill health of infants born near drilled areas, 10; illness of a family’s dog, 34–36; immunosuppressant factor of known drilling chemicals, 126; and indications of water contamination from drilling, 21; and inexactness of animal illness diagnoses, 35–36; and interpretations of MCL, 27–28; and lack of knowledge of long-term effects of exposure to drilling waste, 62, 105–6, 146, 172–73; and lack of proof for causation of health problems, 25–26; and legal issues regarding testing, 117; metallic taste in mouth, 42; and misplacement of the burden of proof of ill effects, 172; and policy-reform recommendations, 173; and potential causes of the death of a calf, 143–44; precautionary principle and, 9–10, 171–72; presence of human carcinogens in drilling waste, 106–7; sense of smell loss, 41, 46, 55; and sentinels of environmental health hazards, 10–11, 16, 19–20; and shale gas syndrome, 25–26; and symptoms of exposure to VOCs, 53–54, 203n21; and typical approach to toxicology testing, 25; and water-testing practices and related issues, 26–29

heat pumps, 179

heavy metal poisoning, 48–49, 182

hexavalent chromium, 25

Hinkley Compressor Station, 25

hippuric acid, 53–54, 203n21

home-rule principle, 151

hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling: alternatives to, 187; categories of chemicals used in, operations, 43; data on leaking cement casings, 43; and estimates of the size of US gas reservoirs, 4, 198n13; evolution of federal regulations regarding, 7–9; laws regarding leak-detection systems, 46; mud-pit liners’ vulnerability to tears, 44–46, 50–51, 121–22; origins of, technique, 2, 3; process description of, 6–7; public reaction against, 5; and risks to aquifers, 6, 23–24; wastewater hazards of, 7.
See also
shale gas drilling

hydrochloric acid, 70, 82, 115, 188

hydrogen sulfide, 5, 46

hydropower industry, 176

immunosuppressants, 126

impoundments: aerators and, 41, 53, 55, 60; chemicals found in, 51, 52, 54; drilling company’s acknowledgment of problems, 59, 60, 117; environmental hazards from, 7, 41, 43, 44, 48, 57, 104, 117, 121–23, 125, 140; impact on real estate values, 65; integrity issues of, 45–46; purpose in drilling operations, 23, 32; risks to crops and animals from, 101; water contamination from leaking pit liners, 44–46, 50–51, 121–22; water-supply disruption due to, 33, 34

Incidents 1, 2, and 3.
See
Smith, Ann and Andrew

International Monetary Fund, 176

iron, 51, 75, 137, 144

Ithaca College, 2

Jackson, Lisa, 9

Jameson, Mary and Charlie, 127–28; concerns about drilling operations, 127; and cow reproductive issues after wastewater spill, 123–24; and discovery and repercussions of a wastewater leak, 121–23; disruption of their quality of life, 112; and evidence of wildlife illnesses due to access to wastewater, 117, 119–20; financial concerns due to quarantine, 116; and health effects of known drilling chemicals, 126; history of their farm, 111; and lack of information about chemicals used in drilling, 126; and lack of wastewater testing by PADEP, 3, 122; and land-lease terms, 113–14; and nature of their calves’ illnesses, 125–26; and necropsy report on calves, 124–25, 126; and number and locations of wells planned for their area, 118–19; and PADEP-instituted cattle quarantine after a spill, 114–15; and PADEP’s failure to test for organic compounds, 122–23; and public health risk due to lack of animal testing, 117–18; and results of soil tests, 123; and size and positioning of drilling infrastructure, 112, 120; unanswered questions about quarantine guidelines, 115–16

Klein, Jesse.
See
Waller, Samantha, and Jesse Klein

land farming, 102

land-lease deals: clauses regarding water, 39; compulsory integration laws and, 1, 99, 100–101, 206n8; foreign interest in, 65; land owners’ rights and, 87, 93, 99, 100, 106, 113–14, 146–47, 185; mineral rights and, 21, 69, 87, 89, 99, 133, 156, 185; percent of land leased for drilling, 102; promises made by, 20, 32–33, 97, 113, 114, 133, 146; requirement for drilling activity, 68–69, 185

land spreading, 102

land treatment, 102

Lash, Gary, 3

lead, 48

Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation (LEAF), 7

Leverkuhn, Mr., 32–33, 43, 66.
See also
Bidermann, Josie; Valdes, Sarah

liners, drilling-mud pit.
See
drilling-mud pit liners

Lundberg Farms, 103

“mad cow disease,” 108

manganese, 51, 75, 137, 144

Marcellus Shale: compulsory integration laws and, 100; depth of the formation, 24; estimate of amount of gas in, 3–4; leaks in, wells, 43; location and available resources of, 183–84; plans for, 67, 118–19

Masry, Edward, 25

maximum contaminant level (MCL): designation by EPA, 61–62, 204n26; interpretations of, 27–28

MC B-8642, 46

mercury, 48

methane: anthropogenic climate change and, 174–75; composition and uses of, 182, 183–84; and documentation of well leaks, 140–41; EPA study concerning, 7–9; high levels of, in a water source, 73, 75, 138, 140; odor from an active gas well, 138; release during rock-fracturing step, 186–87; testing options, 26; tied to energy independence, 4

methylene chloride, 43, 161

mineral rights in leases, 21, 69, 87, 89, 99, 133, 156, 185

Monongahela River, 190

m-xylene, 43

naphtha, 86

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 80

National Organic Program, 106

Natural Resources Defense Council, 152

New Brunswick, Canada, anti-fracking protest in, 5

New York: compulsory integration law, 99, 100–101, 206n8; drilling activity in, 87; environmental oversight, 4, 24, 87, 98, 99, 151, 206n8; land-lease laws, 1; political roadblocks to renewable energy, 176; political support for the oil and gas industry, 98

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), 87, 98, 99, 206n8

Nikiforuk, Andrew, 183

NIMBY (“not in my backyard”), 149

nitrogen fracturing.
See
hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling

nondisclosure agreements: conditions imposed by drilling companies, 14, 22; information-sharing laws, 173; public health dangers due to, 22–23

Norse Energy, 151

North Dakota, 4, 5, 11, 103, 127, 184

Notice of Violation dataset, 121

nuclear industry, 176

NYSDEC, 87, 98, 99, 206n8

oil and gas industry: assertion of safety, 5–6; compulsory integration laws and, 1; estimates of the size of US gas reservoirs, 4, 198n13; evolution of federal regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing, 7–9; government subsidies enjoyed by, 176–77; health effects of operations (
see
health effects of drilling operations); in New York (
see
New York); occupational dangers for employees, 80; origins of new techniques by, 2–3; in Pennsylvania (
see
Pennsylvania); placement of burden of proof on the victim, 9; promise of positive economic outcomes from shale drilling, 149–50; regulation and support of, by states (
see
states); typical steps in establishing a drilling operation, 23–24.
See also
fossil fuels; shale gas drilling

Oil Creek State Park, Pennsylvania, 84

Oklahoma, 4, 23, 190

1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, 43

1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, 43

1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, 51, 158

Onondaga horizon, 100, 207n10

organic compounds, 122–23

organic farms, 97, 106

oxygen scavengers, 43, 187

o-xylene, 43

PADEP (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection): absence of routine testing for organic compounds, 122–23, 144; cattle quarantine after a spill, 114–15; contaminants identified in Bradford County water, 75; denial of testing requests, 55–56; dismissal of a pond blow-out complaint, 91, 142; failure to conduct pre-drilling soil and water tests, 144–45; lack of consideration of the in vivo interaction of selenium and sulfate, 125; lack of response to reports of toxic air, 55–56; lack of response to reports of water-quality changes, 157–58; lack of wastewater testing by, 3, 122; response to aftermath of a blow-out on a cattle farm, 142; response to damaged water supplies, 5; results of pre- and post-drilling water tests by, 49–51; water-testing practices, 27, 28

pads.
See
well pads

PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), 60, 107–8

Pennsylvania: coexistence of farming and gas industry, 97; drilling laws, 151; environmental oversight, 100, 122; environmental protection department (
see
PADEP); ill health of infants born near drilled areas, 10; increase in drilling operations, 23; land-lease laws, 99–101; Marcellus Shale drilling (
see
Marcellus Shale); political roadblocks to renewable energy, 176; political support of oil and gas industry, 98; presence of laws regarding disclosure, 173

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
See
PADEP

Pennsylvania Game Commission, 117

Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act 223, 122

Pfund, Nancy, 176

phenathrene, 60

phenol, 52, 54, 62, 203n21

Pine Creek Gorge, Pennsylvania, 128

pit liners.
See
drilling-mud pit liners

Pittsfield, Pennsylvania, 89

pollution.
See
air contamination; water contamination

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 60, 107–8

precautionary principle, 9–10, 171–72

propane, 182, 183

propanol, 50, 51

propylene glycol, 50, 51

p-xylene, 43

quaternary ammonium compounds, 103–4

Rabinowitz, Peter, 10

radioactive compounds, 13, 24, 36, 102, 105, 107–8, 115, 121, 124, 167, 182

radium-226 and radium-228, 102, 105, 107–8

renewable energy, 177, 180, 192

reproductive problems in animals: birth defects, 48, 142–43; breeding problems, 67, 75–77, 112, 145; death of a stud dog, 34–36

research methodology: approach to investigating health effects, 15–16; evidence of intimidation by drilling companies, 16–17; findings about behavior of the industry and regulatory agencies, 13–14; increase in nondisclosure agreements, 14; limits to availability of data, 13; types of information researched, 12–13; veterinary medicine issues discovered, 14–15

Reynolds v. Sims
, 150

Rippel, Raina, 25

Rogers, Deborah, 192

royalties to landowners, 27, 82, 100, 129, 146–47, 152–53, 184