Look Out, Ohioans; You've Got a Fracking Problem Now!

Fracking is the shortened version of the term hydro-fracture, and it describes a controversial drilling process used to extract natural gas from deep within the earth.

What is Fracking Brine?

Fracking brine is the mixture of water and chemicals used in the hydro-fracturing process, many of which are known carcinogens, and the contaminated wastewater left behind after the drilling is done.

Why is Fracking Brine a Problem?

Originally proclaimed to be completely safe process from the beginning of drilling to the final wastewater disposal, by the gas companies and the EPA, practiced dumping filtered brine into Pennsylvania rivers.

When researchers found that, in spite of filtering, the rivers were found to be contaminated in a way that had the potential to negatively affect drinking water, drillers began looking for other ways to dispose of the brine.

Add to this the fact that t he United States Department of Energy has been cited as saying, "the waste water that is produced in gas drilling some of the most toxic of all industrial byproducts."

What is in Fracking Brine?

While the exact combination of ingredients is proprietary information, meaning the companies do not make it public, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has compiled a list of some of the c hemicals used by hydraulic fracturing companies for surface and hydraulic fracturing activities in Pennsylvania, based upon the MSDS, or Material Safety Data Sheets obtained from the industry.

(Please note: these 44 substances represent only a partial list, because some ingredients remain unknown.)

1. 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene Glycol Ethers (includes 2BE)
2. 1,3,5 Trimethylbenzene Guar gum
3. 2,2-Dibromo-3-Nitrilopropionamide Hemicellulase Enzyme
4. 2.2-Dibromo-3-Nitrilopropionamide Hydrochloric Acid
5. 2-butoxyethanol Hydrotreated light distillate
6. 2-Ethylhexanol Hydrotreated Light Distilled
7. 2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one Iron Oxide
8. 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazotin-3-one Isopropanol
9. Acetic Acid Isopropyl Alcohol
10. Acetic Anhydride Kerosine
11. Acie Pensurf Magnesium Nitrate
12. Alchohol Ethoxylated Mesh Sand (Crystalline Silica)
13. Alphatic Acid Methanol
14. Alphatic Alcohol Polyglycol Ether Mineral Spirits
15. Aluminum Oxide Monoethanolamine
16. Ammonia Bifluoride Naphthalene
17. Ammonia Bisulfite Nitrilotriacetamide
18. Ammonium chloride Oil Mist
19. Ammonium Salt Petroleum Distallate Blend
20. Ammonia Persulfate Petroleum Distillates
21. Aromatic Hydrocarbon Petroleum Naphtha
22. Aromatic Ketones Polyethoxylated Alkanol (1)
23. Boric Acid Polyethoxylated Alkanol (2)
24. Boric Oxide Polyethylene Glycol Mixture
25. Butan-1-01 Polysaccharide
26. Citric Acid Potassium Carbonate
27. Crystalline Silica: Cristobalite Potassium Chloride
28. Crystalline Silica: Quartz Potassium Hydroxide
29. Dazomet Prop-2-yn-1-01
30. Diatomaceus Earth Propan-2-01
31. Diesel (use discontinued) Propargyl Alcohol
32. Diethylbenzene Propylene
33. Doclecylbenzene Sulfonic Acid Sodium Ash
34. E B Butyl Cellosolve Sodium Bicarbonate
35. Ethane-1,2-diol Sodium Chloride
36. Ethoxlated Alcohol Sodium Hydroxide
37. Ethoxylated Alcohol Sucrose
38. Ethoxylated Octylphenol Tetramethylammonium Chloride
39. Ethylbenzene Titaniaum Oxide
40. Ethylene Glycol Toluene
41. Ethylhexanol Xylene
42. Ferrous Sulfate Heptahydrate
43. Formaldehyde
44. Glutaraldehyde

According to Damascus Citizens in Affirming Gasland , the typical frack job uses between four and seven million gallons of water. Approximately 20 tons of chemicals from the list above are added to each million gallons of water.

Medical Problems Caused by Chemicals Used in Fracking

That means a small fracking job, using four million gallons of water would offer up a cocktail that includes 80 tons of chemicals that have been linked to numerous medical problems, including:

• Cancer
  Respiratory problems
• Reproductive problems
• Brain and nervous system complications
• Kidney failure
• Immune system failure
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Liver failure
• Endocrine problems
• Developmental ailments
• Cardiovascular disease
• Blood problems

According to Michael Kranzer, Acting Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, "After May 19, almost all drillers will either be sending the waste to deep disposal wells - mostly in Ohio."

The deep disposal wells mentioned by Kranzer are actually often abandoned oil wells centered in agricultural areas, many of which are decades old, and many of which broke through the water table when drillers bored through the layers of ground and rock.

This means contaminants not filtered out of the brine will have the capacity to leach into local Ohio water supplies. Will it happen? Realistically, accidents happen. It might not, but sooner or later it probably will, and in a sense, toxic brine contamination has already left its mark elsewhere, in Pennsylvania's newly contaminated rivers.

Ohio's pollution problem will have the potential to reach people in other states as well. With the vast majority of the proposed fracking brine disposal sites centered in Ohio's agricultural heartland, contaminated groundwater will have the potential to leach into the local and exported food supply as well as local drinking water.

What Does the EPA Say about Hydro-fracturing Brine?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency announced in March of 2010 that it would be conducting "a comprehensive research study to investigate the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on water quality and public health."

The most recent word from the EPA came on March 17, 2011 from James Hanlon, Director of EPA's Office of Wastewater Management to the EPA Regions. Hanlon released a memo, " Natural Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale under the NPDES Program: Frequently Asked Questions."

In part the memo stated, "Shale gas extraction produces large volumes of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing in addition to relatively small volumes of produced water from the formation. That wastewater can contain high concentrations of dissolved solids (salts), naturally occurring radionuclides, and metals, as well as other pollutants used in drilling and completion of wells."

It's Your Fracking Problem Now, Ohio

Does that mean the EPA found fracking brine to be safe? No.

Does that mean the EPA is going to protect the citizens affected? Apparently not.

Get a nice glass of water, and drink up, Ohioans! It might be the last water you get that's safe to drink. (And don't think buying bottled water is going to save you, it all comes from the same freshwater sources, and this type of gas drilling is becoming common in many states.)