Hydraulic Fracturing Hazard Assessment

Marcellus Shale

ENVSE 450 December 12, 2013

Team 14: Patrick Parisi Kayla Turney Jake Roberts

2 Executive Summary The recent increase in hydraulic fracturing activity in the Marcellus shale has brought much attention to the potential hazards and health effects associated with this process, and in particular, with the fracturing fluids. There is much debate over whether the value of these resources is worth the potential risk to the public and the environment. It is known that a wide range of harmful chemicals that can have negative effects on humans and the environment are used in fracturing fluid. Many studies have been performed or are currently being performed to determine the hazards associated with these chemicals. Still, due to its only recent analysis, the full scale of health effects associated with this technology has yet to be quantified. With current knowledge, when performed correctly, the hydraulic fracturing process seems to be a safe method of extracting natural resources. However, if done improperly or if an accident were to occur, hydraulic fracturing can pose a serious threat to both humans and our environment. This report seeks to explore and elaborate on the possible threats, exposure pathways, and resulting effects.

General Overview of Hydraulic Fracturing What is Fracking? In todays world, the hunt for oil and natural gas has led the energy industry into the exploration and development of shale gas plays. These geologic formations may contain large quantities of hydrocarbons, but tend to have extremely poor flow rates due to low permeability. This is particularly true for the Marcellus shale here in Pennsylvania, posing a serious challenge for oil companies who seek to extract its resources.

3 The solution to this issue is hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing (more commonly known as fracking) is a method of stimulation that allows the wells drilled into these tight formations, which would otherwise be uneconomic, to become productive and profitable. Hydraulic fracturing has been around for quite some time, being used commercially since 1949. However, the past decade has seen the combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, allowing the development of new shale plays across the country and bringing large-scale drilling operations to new regions. This recent surge has brought hydraulic fracturing into the limelight and has made it one of the most hotly debated environmental concerns in America. Today, nearly nine out of 10 onshore wells require hydraulic fracturing to become economic. With the recent boom in tight gas play exploration, this technology is bound to play an even more important role moving forward.

How Does it Work? The hydraulic fracturing process occurs after the well has already been drilled and casing has been inserted into the wellbore. The first step in the fracturing process is for the casing to be perforated at the target zone. This means that a series of holes are shot through the metal casing. This allows the pressure created by the fracturing process to be focused on one specific rock formation that will be produced from. The fracturing fluid is then pumped down hole. The fluid is pumped at a very high rate and pressure, much faster than the target rock can absorb it. As the pressure builds, the formation rock will eventually no longer be able to withstand the stress and it will fracture. After the fracture occurs, the frac fluid will continue to flow into the formation in order to disperse a material called proppant. Proppant is generally composed of just sand or sometimes ceramic beads, and is mixed in as part of the fracturing fluid. Next, the injection will cease and the fracture fluids will begin to flow back to the wellbore, leaving the proppant behind.

4 As the pressure decreases and the newly made fracture tries to close on itself, the proppant will hold it open. The end result is a much more conductive pathway for oil and gas to travel through, exponentially increasing the amount of hydrocarbons that can be recovered from the reservoir. This process is generally repeated several times depending on the length of the wellbore that needs to be stimulated. Using a system of pressure-tight plugs, each repetition (or stage) of the fracturing process will be focused on a new section of the wellbore. This allows the stimulation to be performed on the exact interval that is wished to be produced from, or even multiple intervals that may be some distance apart.

-A basic schematic of the inner workings of the hydraulic fracturing process-

5 Hydraulic fracturing fluid is the key behind the process. Generally, 90% of frac fluid is made up of water, 9.5% is proppant, and the remaining 0.5% is made up of various chemicals used to increase efficiency. Most of the chemicals used are disclosed and available to the public. Some, however, are considered proprietary by the companies that develop the fracturing fluid and are kept secret to prevent competitors from copying their designs. The specific benefits of various chemicals are explained in detail later in this report. The equipment needed to perform a hydraulic fracturing operation like this is quite extensive. Depending on the requirements of the job, multiple pump trucks (which supply the horsepower and pressure needed to fracture the formation), chemical storage trucks, blender trucks, water storage tanks, and tanks to hold flowback are all required on site. The typical frac job today requires between 2 and 5 million gallons of water and hundreds of thousands of pounds of proppant. The fracturing process typically takes between 3 to 10 days to complete and have the equipment moved off site.

- An overhead view of a frac job in progress-

6 Hazards and Exposure Pathways Like any industry, there are certain hazards that come along with hydraulic fracturing. Workplace hazards can be divided into three categories: health, safety, and environmental. At the request of the United States Congress, there is an ongoing study on fracking which is being completed by the Environmental Protection Agency to learn more about any potential impacts of fracking. The study is going to focus on hazards associated with water acquisition, chemical mixing, well injection, flowback and produced water, and wastewater treatment and water disposal. The draft report is expected to be published in 2014. Human health hazards are one of the most talked about and debated issue surrounding fracking. All of the health effects from fracking are still unknown since this particular gas extraction method is still considered to be a recent phenomenon. Most of the health hazards affiliated with fracking come from the possibility of water contamination. Health issues can arise from drinking, bathing in, or any contact with the polluted water. The water used in fracking becomes polluted due to the large amount of chemicals that are used to make the fracking fluid used in the process. Groundwater and surface water can become contaminated by spills of flowback water during fracking. There have even been reported incidences of companies intentionally spraying their flowback water onto roads at the drilling site in order to limit the dust created by vehicles. Groundwater can also be contaminated if the well casing breaks or cracks during the fracking process. Even with no problems, only about 30-50% of the fracking fluid is recovered. The rest remains underground. This makes the potential for longer term effects very difficult to predict. Fracking investigations found fracking to be the common thread in more than 1000 cases of water contamination across eleven states, including dozens of cases of well failures in which the concrete or steel meant to protect aquifers

7 cracked under high pressure (Kelley 2). If the casing cracks, hazardous water can be released into the aquifer. Another way water can become contaminated is being insufficiently treated at waste water treatment plants. Many companies simply send their flowback to local treatment facilities. However, these treatment plants are not designed to handle the heavy amounts of chemicals coming in through the flowback water. It doesnt help that many times, the treatment workers are unaware what chemicals are actually coming in. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, there can be up to 435 products containing 344 different chemicals used for one drilling (Human Health Hazards 1). These chemicals are not considered safe, either. The majority of these chemicals used in fracking are known to at least cause skin, eye, or sensory irritation. Approximately 30% are known to cause reproductive and mutagenic problems in humans. Some of these fracking chemicals can cause respiratory or neurological complications and some are even known carcinogens in humans. The cleaned waste water is often times disposed of into local surface water systems, like rivers. Once these toxins reach open water, they can harm fish and other wildlife. The same chemicals that are harmful to humans are harmful to animals and the environment. Workers at fracking sites also face safety hazards of their own. Perhaps the biggest concern and the one that is reviewed the most is workers exposure to silica. During recent studies, NIOSH has shown that workers on site during hydraulic fracturing can be exposed to respirable crystalline silica from the dust generated by working with proppant. Silica dust has been labeled as an official OSHA health hazard. Sand, the most typical proppant, contains

8 approximately 99% silica. It is an important part of the fracking fluid used in the process as it is meant to hold open the fissures so that the natural gas can escape the rock. Multiple sources of the silica dust were identified throughout the course of fracking. For example, silica dust can be generated by vehicle traffic or it can be released during the transfer of the sand from trucks onto conveyor belts. NIOSH took 116 air samples at different fracking sites to figure out how big of a risk there was for workers. They found that 47% had a silica amount greater than the OSHA PEL and 79% had a silica amount greater than the NIOSH REL. There are many problems associated with breathing silica. The major hazard is the development of silicosis, which is a lung disease. Workers with silicosis experience shortness of breath, poor oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, fatigue, chronic cough, and eventually respiratory failure. Silica respiration is also linked to lung cancer, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, kidney disease, and autoimmune disease. Hydraulic fracturing has other safety hazards that can harm workers on-site. For instance, workers can be injured from the heavy equipment used, they can obtain accidental injuries due to poor lighting on site, they can fall from heights, or get trapped in confined spaces. All of these are typical injuries that can occur in a mining or oil field setting. Another safety hazard for workers is pinch points. Pinch points are where a worker can get stuck between two objects, such as equipment. Another hazard is the high pressure used during fracking. The high pressure lines can break causing an unexpected pressure release that can injure a worker.

9 Another huge topic of debate surrounding fracking is the environmental hazards associated with the practice. Hydraulic fracturing can cause many long-term environmental impacts. Water depletion is a major issue with fracking. An average fracking job can use up to 8 million gallons of water which is usually taken from local streams or rivers. This huge loss of water from a given system could cause a lot of ecological damage to the organisms occupying that area. Since the water used isnt left as clean water, it cannot simply return to the water cycle. Fracking depletes water sources by billions of gallons each year. As mentioned before when discussing health hazards, water contamination is a main concern, and just as much of a concern for environmental hazards. While there has never been a confirmed case of drinking water contamination due to normal fracturing operations, it remains a hotly debated topic. Oil companies take the utmost precautions by installing several layers of steel casing and cement within groundwater zones to ensure that no hydrocarbons or fracturing fluids can escape from the well. Yet, if for some reason there were to be a catastrophic equipment failure, contamination remains a possibility. If this were to happen, the chemicals released have a chance of traveling through aquifers and into underground sources of drinking water. The chemicals in the flowback are not bio-degradable so they dont break down. Instead they remain toxic and leach into the environment. Soil can also become contaminated the same way water is. Accidental spills of fracturing chemicals during transportation, fracturing operations, and waste disposal have occurred in the past, leading to contaminated soil and surface waters. From here, the chemicals have a chance of entering drinking water sources or environmental areas where direct contact with humans may occur. There is also concern that livestock may be affected, thus contaminating food sources. Surface spills are the most common exposure pathway related to hydraulic fracturing.

10 One environmental hazard that typically doesnt come to mind when thinking of fracking is the potential for air pollution. In some gas producing regions a degradation of air quality has been recorded as drilling activity increases. The volatile toxins in the air may be originating from a variety of sources. In particular, research is being conducted on the emissions associated with the fracturing flow back stage when wastewater returns to the surface from deep underground. Some companies still use open storage pits to store this wastewater. This allows the wastewater to release toxic compounds into the air. The main pollutants of concern are volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Of all the chemicals used in fracking, about 40% of them are volatile. The fracking fluid that is left in open pits to evaporate does not just evaporate clean water. Instead, harmful VOCs can be released into the atmosphere. VOCs cover a large variety of chemicals, but many of these contaminate air, can cause acid rain, and produce ground-level ozone, or smog, which we know is also harmful to human health. Fracking can also be hazardous to the environment by adding to global warming pollutants, like methane. Global warming emissions from completion of fracking wells since 2005 total an estimated 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Fracking by the Numbers).

11 Chemicals and Control Strategies Hydraulic Fracturing has been considered safe since about 2004 when the Environmental Protection Agency conducted multiple studies and concluded that it was safe from harming our drinking water. This was thought to be true because there were no important incidents of leaking fracking fluid entering water supplies. But the last couple years there have been a couple of these incidents. In early spring of 2013, there was a spill of nearly 241 barrels of natural gas fluid in a small town known as Parachute, Colorado. This fluid eventually had a lot of runoff into the creek and was classified as contaminated water. The chemical that was mainly responsible for the contamination was benzene. Benzene is used in fracking fluid and is a known carcinogen by OSHA, Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and has an exposure limit set at 5 parts per billion. This fluid caused the Parachute creek to see a rise in Benzene levels of over 5 parts per billion, making the water contaminated and unsafe. This leads to a conclusion that the fluid must contain a lot of concentrated benzene to allow the concentration in the creek to rise over a safe exposure limit for a known carcinogen. Benzene is just one of many harmful chemicals used in fracking that can eventually lead to health problems and contaminated drinking water. A 2011 Congressional Report done on chemicals in hydraulic fracturing show that the leading 14 companies in the United States injected 10.2 million gallons of more than 650 products that contained chemicals known as possible carcinogens regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act or listed as hazardous air pollutant by OSHA. Many of the major fracking companies recently admitted to using diesel fuel in their fracking fluid. This is where the benzene in the fracking fluid comes from. It was hard to find certain concentration levels and quantity of benzene used in diesel fuel. Another reason Benzene is used in this process is that Benzene is good at extracting other substances. It is also a precursor

12 to many chemicals. The Benzene can get into the fractures and help absorb the natural gas from the Shale layer. According to the U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee, Hydraulic Fracturing companies have injected more than 30 million gallons of diesel fuel or hydraulic fracturing fluid containing diesel fuel in wells in 19 states across the country. Chemicals like benzene are being put into the ground every day and could be contaminating our water supply. As mentioned earlier, crystalline silica poses a major health concern to workers. Fracking companies are taking steps to increase the safety of workers at sites. One way to help prevent this exposure is having OSHA come in and collect samples around the site to determine silica exposure. OSHA offers this service for free to help fight exposure. This should be done frequently. Other strategies that are recommended are to cap off unused ports to help the release of dust and silica. Also, fracking sites should enclose points where dust is released. This can be accomplished by installing thick plastic or curtains so people do not go close. Also, employers should invest in exhaust ventilation for obvious reasons to make the site free of particulate matter and silica and protect the safety of the workers. The other main chemical additives can be divided into 5 different categories: Friction Reducers, Corrosion inhibitors, Biocides, acids, and Gelling Agents. The main purpose for each of these types of chemicals can be seen in figure 1 below.

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Figure 1. Purpose of chemicals in Fracking

Hydrochloric acid is the main acid used in the fracking fluid and it dissolves minerals and initiates cracks in the rocks. Hydrochloric acid is regulated as a toxic substance by the Environmental Protection Agency. Another harmful chemical that would fall into that is methanol. Methanol would fall into the corrosion inhibitor category. It helps reduce corrosion in the pipes from the hydrochloric acid as it stabilizes the fluid. Methanol is dangerous as it is found in liquids like antifreeze. Overexposure or ingestion of methanol can cause severe sickness or death. Having said these harmful chemicals can be used in fracking not all wells use chemicals like methanol and benzene to get the necessary job done. Other chemicals that are used in fracking are ones we come across in our everyday life. Some of these are citric acid, acetic acid, sodium hydroxide, calcium chloride, and magnesium oxide. There are also many chemicals such as acetaldehyde, which an intermediate in many chemical processes, that can have acute effects on humans but no data to support cancer risk to over exposure.

14 There are a wide range of chemicals that can be used in fluids for fracking. Most are used in everyday life and not harmful to exposure, but some such as benzene from diesel fuel and methanol are known carcinogens. Since fracking has had a boom in the last 10 years and there has been some fluid leaks where public has been exposed to benzene, we probably wont know the extent of the harmful effects on the water supply for years, maybe even decades to come. The fracking industry and OSHA are taking the right steps to protect workers and the public from water contamination and exposure to toxic chemicals. Things such as ventilation systems and frequent air quality reports are being used in the field to keep a safe working area and to monitor incase a disaster strikes. Regulations Due to the increasing speculation and debate surrounding fracking, government agencies have been increasing regulations to make fracking safer and less hazardous. However, Pennsylvania is one of the states with the least number of regulations on fracking. One thing that has made regulating fracking has been the Halliburton Loophole. Basically, this is a provision of the 2005 energy bill by former Vice President Dick Cheney, who also was a former chief executive of Halliburton at the time. Essentially, it gave government agencies no right to regulate fracking and it also let fracking companies add anything to their fluid without having to disclose what chemicals were actually added. Agencies are now looking further into fracking and placing regulations on potentially dangerous aspects of the method. The EPA controls national regulations. Some regulations the EPA has put in place involving fracking fluid include the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. The Safe Drinking Water Act is to protect public drinking water. This act regulates the amount of fracking fluid that is allowed to be injected into the ground. The Clean Water Act regulates the

15 contamination of surface water by limiting the flowback that is disposed of into water. Since the EPA is technically not allowed to regulate these things, they are done so by other programs like the Underground Injection Control program and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. Unfortunately, there are still some loopholes in these regulations that are protected by the Halliburton Loophole that protects oil and gas drilling companies from certain limitations. State agencies also implement their own set of regulations for fracking. Most use Prevention, Preparedness, and Contingency plans. In these plans, operators are now being required to disclose the additives used in their fracking fluids and also any wastes that are generated during the process. These PPC plans also implement specific cleanup procedures that companies must abide by. In Pennsylvania, the Oil and Gas Act requires that the well operator be responsible for any pollution created during fracking. If they are found guilty of pollution, the owner must pay for remediation. The PPC plans also specify companies designs for fracking fluid settling pits. Each state is different with their regulations.

16 Conclusion Due to hydraulic fracturings only recent analysis by government and safety regulation organizations, the full scale and long-term effects of fracturing fluids are still relatively unknown. The effects of hydraulic fracturing come from various exposure pathways and chemicals used in fracking. Exposure to the components in the fluid can occur through ingestion, inhalation, and direct contact. Some of these components are perfectly safe and natural, while many others are known chemical carcinogens such as benzene and methanol. Also, particulate matter and respirable dust from crystalline silica can pose threats at work site locations causing many regulatory agencies to issue hazard alerts. When performed and controlled correctly, the hydraulic fracturing process seems to be a safe and manageable method of extracting the natural resources found in Pennsylvanias Marcellus shale. However, the possibility of accidents and improper procedures poses many potential hazards and health effects for humans and the environment alike. As hydraulic fracturing continues to play an ever increasing role in the search for natural resources, the debate is bound to continue over whether the value of these resources is worth the potential risk. Either way, comprehensive safety regulations and control strategies certainly need to be put into place and updated frequently to ensure that any negative impacts of this technology are minimized.

17 Works Cited

http://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing_101. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. http://www.halliburton.com/public/projects/pubsdata/hydraulic_fracturing/fracturing_101.html#. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. http://www.fracfocus.org. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. http://www.epa.gov. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. http://www.rigzone.com. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. http://www.environmentamerica.org/reports/ame/fracking-numbers http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/07/16/how-states-are-regulatingfracking-in-maps/ http://www.epa.gov "What Are Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations in Pennsylvania?" -. N.p., Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Pless, Jacquelyne. "Fracking Update: What States Are Doing to Ensure Safe Natural Gas Extraction." Fracking Update: What States Are Doing to Ensure Safe Natural Gas Extraction. N.p., July-Aug. 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. http://www.dangersoffracking.com/ https://www.osha.gov/dts/hazardalerts/hydraulic_frac_hazard_alert.html "The 10 Scariest Chemicals Used In Hydraulic Fracking." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. "HAZARD ALERT - Worker Exposure to Silica during Hydraulic Fracturing." HAZARD ALERT - Worker Exposure to Silica during Hydraulic Fracturing. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Upton, John. "Fracking Accident Leaks Benzene into Colorado Stream." Grist. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

18 "HAZARD ALERT - Worker Exposure to Silica during Hydraulic Fracturing." HAZARD ALERT - Worker Exposure to Silica during Hydraulic Fracturing. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. "Why Chemicals Are Used." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. "The 10 Scariest Chemicals Used In Hydraulic Fracking." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.