When Frack on Crack meets Herbicide Harry…..

I am so glad that Texas A&M AgriLife Extension is looking into educating the oil & gas industry in how to reduce herbicide use at pad sites. For example they need to know when the CORRECT application times/season are so as to not waste or over treat. But my gut is to NOT add any more chemicals to these…future Brownfield sites. I’m surprised anything grows at these well known “scorched earth” sites anyway.

—– Forwarded Message —–
From: kim feil <kimfeil@sbcglobal.net>
To: “justin.hale@ag.tamu.edu” <justin.hale@ag.tamu.edu>
Cc: Ph.D. Avner Vengosh <vengosh@duke.edu>; Aaron Hoff <hoffa@trinityra.org>; Angela Kilpatrick <kilpatricka@trinityra.org>
Sent: Friday, December 1, 2017 8:52 AM
Subject: Lake Arlington Village Creek info I gave you…

Justin, it was a delight to have you speak to me yesterday at the Lake Arlington-Village Creek Water Protection Plan steering committee meeting.

Thank you for explaining how GMO is different than GE. I still wonder why our cancer and ADD rates have spiked in the recent decades that seem to coincidence with the advent of food technology. I am now more environmentally aware (because of blogging about Urban Drilling risks) of our degraded air, soil, and water from industrial processes…so it must be more than just what we feed our bodies for these spikes.

On a different note…here is a link from Dr Vengosh related to drilling effluents that may be present at pad sites. So as you guys talk to the operators about herbicide use at these pad sites…please first contact Dr Vengosh to have a discussion on the risk for synergistic, unintended risks to groundwater and stormwater runoff.  

I have coined this as “frack on crack” risk situations and I cringe when the operators boast of recycling waste water when adding disinfectants to it risks having a more dangerous concoction than what they started with.

Mixing new chemicals with unknown present ones is always hard to test for yet alone try to regulate. All this in a state like here in Texas that does NOT testing for NORM which was a concern Dr Vengosh and I both share….one of the reasons I joined the steering committee.

Here is some recent work/abstract from Dr. Vengosh….

Chemical and toxicological characterizations of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water – ScienceDirect

Chemical and toxicological characterizations of hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced water – ScienceDirect

Additionally I have blogged….

Another report that appeared in the Royal Society of Chemistry Journal Environmental Science:

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2014/em/c4em00376d#!divAbstract

Processes and Impacts….

“However, the presence of various fatty acid phthalate esters in the Barnett and Marcellus produced waters can be related to their use in drilling fluids and breaker additives rather than their presence in connate fluids. Halogen containing compounds are found in each of the water samples, and although the fluorocarbon compounds identified are used as tracers, the presence of chlorocarbons and organobromides formed as a consequence of using chlorine containing oxidants (to remove bacteria from source water),suggests that industry should concentrate on non-chemical treatments of frac and produced waters.”  

HERE IS ANOTHER TIDBIT>>>>>>>

SEPT 2014 Bromide UPDATE Laboratory Talk reported that Sept 2014 Rice University (RU) studied produced water from shale formations in Texas, Pennsylvania & New Mexico… “Initially, the project undertook chemical analysis of fracking fluids pumped through gas-producing shale formations in Texas, Pennsylvania and New Mexico. Early findings suggested that shale oil and gas-produced water does not contain significant amounts of the polyaromatic hydrocarbons that could pose health hazards. Instead, the research team discovered minute amounts of other chemical compounds which led the team to suggest that the industry would be wise to focus its efforts on developing nonchemical treatments for fracking and produced water. RU team also found that produced water contained potentially toxic chlorocarbons and organobromides, most likely formed from interactions between high levels of bacteria in the water and salts or chemical treatments used in fracking fluids.

Barron said industry sometimes uses chlorine dioxide or hypochlorite treatments to recycle produced water for reuse, but these treatments can often enhance bacteria’s ability to convert naturally occurring hydrocarbons to chlorocarbons and organobromides.”

Thanks Justin for your interest and passion in a career of such importance to human health.

Kim Feil https://barnettshalehell.wordpress.com/ TEX LG. CODE ANN. A§ 253.005 : Texas Statutes – Section 253.005: LEASE OF OIL, GAS, OR MINERAL LAND “(c) A well may not be drilled in the thickly settled part of the municipality..” Texas Administrative Code, Title 30, Part 1, Chapter 101, Subchapter A, Rule 101.4, Environmental Quality, Nuisance No person shall discharge from any source whatsoever one or more air contaminants or combinations thereof, in such concentration and of such duration as are or may tend to be injurious to or to adversely affect human health or welfare, animal life, vegetation, or property, or as to interfere with the normal use and enjoyment of animal life, vegetation, or property.