|
|
By arimoore, on September 22nd, 2009%
Petition: Schlumberger has history of environmental problems by G. Jeffrey Aaron:
An Ithaca-based environmental firm has presented a petition to Horseheads village planners that requests a full environmental impact study for the Schlumberger gas drilling support facility proposed for an 88-acre parcel near Wygant and Ridge roads.
The petition, e-mailed Monday to the village by Toxics Targeting Inc., includes the names of more than 60 residents primarily from the Horseheads and Elmira area who support the request, environmental data, a map showing more than 80 toxic spills or accidents that have taken place over the years within a quarter-mile radius of the proposed site, and federal records that document Schlumberger’ s environmental regulatory non-compliance at five of its facilities. (Read more)
By arimoore, on September 3rd, 2009%
EPA: Chemicals Found in Wyo. Drinking Water Might Be From Fracking by Abrahm Lustgarten, for ProPublica:
Federal environment officials investigating drinking water contamination near the ranching town of Pavillion, Wyo., have found that at least three water wells contain a chemical used in the natural gas drilling process of hydraulic fracturing. Scientists also found traces of other contaminants, including oil, gas or metals, in 11 of 39 wells tested there since March.
The study, which is being conducted under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program, is the first time the EPA has undertaken its own water analysis in response to complaints of contamination in drilling areas, and it could be pivotal in the national debate over the role of natural gas in America’s energy policy. (Read more)
By arimoore, on August 31st, 2009%
Reuters: EPA Scientists Find 2-BE in drinking water wells near drilling operations reads in part: “Among the contaminants found in some of the wells was 2-butoyethanol, or 2-BE, a solvent used in natural gas extraction, which researchers say causes the breakdown of red blood cells, leading to blood in the urine and feces, and can damage the kidneys, liver, spleen and bone marrow.”
Fortuna Energy has refused to state for the record that this chemical 2-BE would NOT be a component of the chemicals to be injected into the Mallula test well in Van Etten. Help protect our water »
By arimoore, on August 17th, 2009%
Read Gas-drilling companies keep chemical formulas a secret by Tom Wilber:
They have catchy names like Flomax 50, SandWedge WF and Bio Clear, but you won’t find them at the drug store, in the pro shop or among your household cleaners.
They are, in fact, trade names for caustic and flammable industrial agents used by crews drilling for natural gas. Mixed with millions of gallons of water and blasted into the ground under high pressure, they fracture bedrock and stimulate the flow of natural gas.
The process, called hydro-fracturing, is at the center of a debate over environmental risks associated with tapping the Marcellus Shale, a massive gas field running beneath the Southern Tier and throughout the Appalachian Basin.
Read the rest
By arimoore, on August 17th, 2009%
Read Jennifer Tomsey’s Family dilemma: To drill or not to drill:
My family has heard the offers to drill. I know these deals can be difficult to refuse, especially in tough economic times. But as an environmental science and policy major, I have studied natural gas drilling and have reservations about it.
Read the rest
By arimoore, on August 12th, 2009%
Marie McRae wrote a letter to the editor in July 31′s Ithaca Journal, Drilling traffic also a concern:
In the article on truck traffic hauling New York City garbage through Tompkins County, John Grant of Trumansburg is quoted as asking “what is the true cost of doing this?” I completely sympathize with those whose lives are impacted by the truck noise, accidents and road damage.
However, if you think that a few (I use that word deliberately) garbage trucks are wreaking havoc now, just wait until the hydraulic fracturing trucks come to town. Fifty-ton trucks making hundreds of trips per well drilled, some carrying a mix of water and toxic chemicals.
In Pennsylvania, and other places where hydro fracing has occurred, the record is clear on: damage to roads (with the bill shouldered by local taxpayers), damage to land and water and risks to human health (information: shaleshock.org, catskillmountainkeeper.org).
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation holds the power to regulate gas drilling in New York with its Supplemental Generic Impact Statement. Ask DEC now for a 90-day public comment period for the draft of that statement when it is released. Clean water and peace of mind are priceless. Ask: What is the true cost of doing this drilling?
Marie McRae
Freeville
By arimoore, on August 6th, 2009%
The Safety of Fracturing Fluids – A Quantitative Assessment by Steve Coffman, member of the Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes –
August 4, 2009
In response to a FOIL request to New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation, the Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes received a list of 48 toxic substances (as defined by the DEC or EPA) permitted for use in hydraulic fracture drilling of gas wells in the Marcellus Shale formation in Yates, Schuyler, Steuben, Broome and Cortland Counties. The received materials came in the form of documents submitted by the drilling companies themselves: Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and Company Drilling Data Sheets.
Continue reading The Safety of Fracturing Fluids – A Quantitative Assessment
|
About Us Shaleshock is an information hub connecting people to regional groups and projects working to stop exploitative drilling in the Marcellus Shale.(more)
2009 Signs of Sustainability
|
Recent Comments