New research suggests that salty, mineral-rich fluids deep beneath Pennsylvania natural gas fields are likely seeping upward thousands of feet into drinking water supplies, according to ProPublica.
Duke University and California State Polytechnic University at Pomona scientists who conducted the study said their findings suggest the fluids found near Marcellus Shale are natural and not a byproduct of drilling or the controversial process of shale gas extraction, known commonly as fracking. But the research also suggests drilling waste and chemicals can migrate in ways previously unknown.
The quality of drinking water was a key component to the fracking debate in North Carolina -- one that led Gov. Bev Perdue to veto a bill establishing a framework for drilling in the state. With the help of Democrats, the GOP-controlled legislature overrode the veto.
"The biggest implication is the apparent presence of connections from deep underground to the surface," said Robert Jackson, a biology professor at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment and one of the study's authors. "It's a suggestion based on good evidence that there are places that may be more at risk."
The researchers collected 426 recent and historical water samples from shallow water wells and analyzed them for brine, water that is rich with salt. They compared their chemical makeup to that of 83 brine samples unearthed as waste water from drilling sites in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale.
The study is the second in recent months to find that the geology surrounding the Marcellus Shale could allow contaminants to move more freely than expected. A paper published by the journal Ground Water in April used modeling to predict that contaminants could reach the surface within 100 years – or fewer if the ground is fracked.
Last year, some of the same Duke researchers found that methane gas was far more likely to leak into water supplies in places adjacent to drilling.
North Carolina lawmakers put the state a step closer to fracking when they voted to override Gov. Bev Perdue's veto of a bill setting the regulatory framework for the process.
Perdue paid a visit earlier this year are to Pennsylvania to see fracking firsthand while she was forming her opinion on legislation related to fracking.
Comments
Once again far from truth
July 10, 2012 - 3:51pm — paracleteThis is the headline and part of the story at WRAL site today
Duke study finds no water pollution in Pennsylvania 'fracking'
Pittsburgh — New research on Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania may only add fuel to the debate over whether the industry poses long-term threats to drinking water.
A paper published on Monday by Duke University researchers found that gas drilling in northeastern Pennsylvania did not contaminate nearby drinking water wells with salty water, which is a byproduct of the drilling.
"These results reinforce our earlier work showing no evidence of brine contamination from shale gas exploration," said Robert Jackson, director of Duke's Center on Global Change and a co-author of the paper, which appeared online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team evaluated 426 samples from groundwater aquifers in six counties.
Not Possible
July 9, 2012 - 5:39pm — NotaliberalDo the Duke researchers not realize that this is not possible, the NC General Assembly passed a law saying that fracking is good and does no harm. This is like the law they passed outlawing rising ocean levels.