Fracking: The Haliburton Loophole That Poisons America's Drinking Water

[rhodium1233]

spread the word folks!

[NeilBlanchard]

Let's get rid of the Halliburton Loophole, shall we?!

Rainbow oil slicks and sharp-smelling tap water sounds like something we all should be drinking!

Mmmm benzene... acetone... toluene... naphthalene...

Taking a shower? Open the windows and turn on a fan -- otherwise your house might explode!

And we don't need the EPA? Really?

Neil

[blakmira]

@NeilBlanchard The EPA as a concept is wonderful...until you realize it's the fox watching the henhouse.

The EPA is one of the most corrupt agencies in the US (and there are many). It has become the protection agency of the oil & gas polluters. Just who do you think thought up & implemented the Halliburton Loophole, hmmm?

We need to scrap this corrupt agency & replace it with an unbiased grassroots watchdog not paid off by Big Oil & Gas who own the gov't!

[TheConshuscriterion]

If it so clean then how can people light there water on fire from the tap?? Would you drink that water?? I sure wouldn't! I realize their are many different perspectives but as a relative layman to the studies being done on fracking I still believe it is unsafe! As well I believe it upsets the natural balance of earths geology! As I understand it when some drilling pads are done with the 'produced water' is pumped back into the well to avoid creating a potentially explosive vacuum!! Dangerous!

[NimonGralock]

Sam, I am more of an expert than your "expert". I am a degreed Petroleum Engineer. My wife is a degreed Chemical Engineer specializing in Enviormental Engineering. Your friend does not realize the diffrent steps involved and what is done on/during each step. If you want I will be more than happy to email you more details on this than you probably care to know about, but I can assure you that unless there is a problem in the casing/cement which is highly unlikely.

[NimonGralock]

@Pill88Dickle Please explain to me (I am a degreed Petroleum Engineer) how a stimulation operation (what you all call fracking) that is typically between 6,000 to 18,000 ft below the surface (water tables typically are only 50 to 200 ft below the surface) with numberous impermiable shale layers that do not allow for fluids or gasses to pass (a resevior is a typically a trapping foramtion that does not allow for fluids to move upwards or the oil and gas would be gone).

[literategoatherder]

@NimonGralock Nick I'm wondering how you can defend your position about fracking, saying that the water that is fracked does not mix with ground water. In Australia a large amount of our country covers the Great Artesian Basin, this up to 9,800ft deep and is used for bore water, and comes to the surface in many places naturally, this is actually required for both agriculture and hundreds of thousands of rural communities.

They "frack" in and around this huge body of water, and thats safe is it?

[NimonGralock]

@literategoatherder I read on the GAB situation that you have in Austrailia. Let me put a few facts for you (so pardon the multiple responses as it is a long reply).

1) The GAB is 1,711,000 square kilometres (661,000 sq mi)

2) The GAB is estimated to hold 64,900 cubic kilometres (15,600 cu mi) of groundwater (roughly 65 023 636 476 000 000 liters)

[NimonGralock]

@literategoatherder

3) The Queensland Gas company (QGC) estimates it injected into the aquifer about 130 liters of fracture fluid into the GAB that is 0.0000000000199 percent of the total water volume (if that was PPM that is 0.00000000199 PPM which is even cleaner than ocean and any drinking water)

4) The reason QGC is getting a bad name is because

a) They waited 13 months before reporting the incident (Could be due to investigation but it looks suspecious)



[NimonGralock]

@literategoatherder

b) The had outdated US MSDS on the chemicals pumped

What the articles I have read (5 sites that are mirrors of each other) fail to note is that the "30" chemicals used are never all used at the same time, in fact it is rare to have more than 6 at any one time and those are mixed in small concentrations (typically .1 - .5 percent of the fluid) which even reduces the contamination more. What more than likely happened is the following.

[NimonGralock]

@literategoatherder

Coal Bed Methane (Coal Seam Gas) is methane that is trapped in coal. To release the gas a the coal requires water to pass over it causing the coal to breakdown and release the gas. Coal has next to no permeability but huge gas storeage capacity. So to produce this gas you need to dewater the formation. IF QGC extend into the GAB, the GAB may have flowed into the fracture causing the gas to release and thus contaminating the GAB.

[NimonGralock]

@literategoatherder

Not having a water analysis of the contaminated water I can not give a better guess than that as the new story is very elusive on hard details.

But I still stand with my statement that Oil and Gas companies to not intend to fracture into any aquafer and go to great lengths to avoid it (after all they will lose hydrocarbons if they do so and will produce water which is classified as a hazardous material and that is expensive to dispose of).

[NimonGralock]

@literategoatherder

Also the GAB does go to depths of 3,000 m but a majority (over 80% is less than 75 m).

Typical wells in Australia are at the depth of 2,800 - 3,500 m which avoids the depth of much of the GAB and very few are even near the deeper parts of the GAB.

Do you have any other information on this one incident (BTW Australia alone has sevearl thousand wells that are in operation and nearly a thousand are fractured each year - since the 60's) as I like to read more in it.

[NimonGralock]

@literategoatherder Almost forgot - Typical chemicals in a borate fracture fluid (most common)

Guar Gelling Agent - from the Guar bean - typically slurried in a mineral oil solution

Crosslinker - Typically a boric acid (Borax)

pH Buffer - a caustic or other pH increaseing agent

Clay Control - Usually in the form of KCl water concentration of 3%

Surfactant - Basically dish soap to reduce water surface tension

Breaker - typically oxidizer (Ammonium Persulfate)

Proppant - typically sand

[newlivingnews]

to the cornfed123567 brainiac who obviously has corn syrup for brains: sell-outs can sell their land to fracking companies, and you might like to take a shower in bottled water for the rest of your life, but your neighbors who did not sell out might not be interested in doing that, or getting bone, brain, breast or the many numerous cancers associated with the high radioactivity from the shale and other toxic chemicals used. Cheney and Halliburton evil scum suckers.

[cornfed123567]

i love this do you realize these people who are getting "tainted water" allow them to come onto their property for a very good sum of money to frac why dont people do more research trust me if they wanted to do this on my property i would have no problem with it because i would be able to afford to take a shower in bottleted water for the rest of my life and then some

[byroninwahroonga]

@Pill88Dickle ***You should look up Gas land****

I've looked it up and it's a pack of lies, makes 'Inconvenient Truth' or 'Supersize Me' look factual. Pay attention, idiot - you're being lied to. Bozos like you who'll believe any nonsense about corporations are a marketer's dream.

[byroninwahroonga]

@Pill88Dickle ***through the faucet, the water is tainted brown***

LOL. The water is tainted brown, by a colorless gas. Keep the lies coming, at least yours are creative.

[DamianDoubleday]

GET THE AMERICAN FRACKING OUT OF IRELAND. THE IRISH WILL NOT BENEFIT. WE WILL BE HARMED BY THIS AMERICAN COMPANY , PLEASE HELP IRELAND, AND STOP THIS HELL ENTER IRELAND , 

[miazizdragon2]

I can't post the post on here I apologize if there is another reason but I posted it on your wall still can't put on the pdf on your wall but hope the link helps...@ woodsprout but if you look on yahoo search it comes right up.

[miazizdragon2]

Lie no contamination has EVER been proven , ground water is thousands of feet away from the shale table.

All the chemicals have been released to the public !

[woodsprout]

@miazizdragon2 "Lie" ?  ~Why don't you help out here ? TELL US:

Where we can view these lists of chemicals? (That you claim are "released to the public")

[Chickentracker]

@woodsprout you blocked Mi Az Iz Dragon 2?

[woodsprout]

@Chickentracker I have not blocked anybody. Why, what happened?

[woodsprout]

You set up this channel today, just to ask me this question? I just double-checked my blocking list, there's nobody on it.

[jtsaad]

@MillyVanillification Dont get all high an mighty. If you have never used gas before then go ahead and keep up the attitude. But I guarantee you regularly enjoy the comfort of a gas heated building. Youre the one that pays for this to happen so quit bitching

[woodsprout]

@jtsaad This isn't a matter of whether someone uses natural gas or not, this is a matter of whether the fracking process is safe for the ground water. WE ALL USE WATER.

If fracking is not safe, then we must stop doing it! Which means we have less natural gas available.

People who use natural gas are allowed to insist on extraction methods that protect the water.

[NimonGralock]

@woodsprout Per OSHA regulations all chemicals that are used must have a MSDS attached ot them and the components are listed, just not the exact chemistry.

[MillyVanillification]

the chemicals used in fracking do not belong into the ground. a better place would be the bowels of haliburton employees and share holders.

[recubejim1]

No Brainer Intelligence Test:

1) Haliburton

2)Cheney

3)Corporations

4)Profit

5)Truth

Which word does not fit with the others?

[stillahippie2]

Just watched "Gasland". Excellent movie~! Government lies, Oil companies lies...no one is watching out for the people of this country~!!!

[stillahippie2]

@stillahippie2 Now the Gas Companies are literally making people sick & taking away their clean water.

[MillyVanillification]

@stillahippie2 It's the self-centric ideology (adam smith's delusion). In the capitalistic ideology (which was a result of adam smith's puerile fantasies), the highest of all values is profit. The second value is the protection of assets. But you wont find any goal dealing with bio- or social-compatibility, because that would be socialism (anti-smithish). As we know, people in the USA are scared of anything that looks remotely "socialistic". Forget the planet. We care for the budget.

[NimonGralock]

@MillyVanillification Actually I have 15 years in the industry, and "breaking" the cap rock is the LAST thing you want to do because you would lose all your reserves. I am not saying it does not happen but it is not the objective. Now, even if it does get ruptured you have multiudes of shale layers above that, which will act as barriers and will still prevent the fluid from migrating to the higher strata.

[milo066]

Benrichie, so you yourself know abut every case? Come on, what we're hearing is just like the BP Gulf episode from folks like you.

[BeAnEarthNut]

good video, strange how Haliburton just keeps on getting away with it! Arrr,

[CorsairHammer]

I've got Chesapeake energy, Red Sky LLC and Haliburton running rough shot over land owners in my community. Just in the last couple of months we have had natural gas bubble up in the river and people's wells being polluted and replaced with water tanks but only if they sign contracts saying they will not tell anyone about it.

[benrichie]

Since Sam obviously doesn't know anything about fracking, and neither does Josh Fox, why not get someone who knows something about it on the air too. The fact is that every case of this so called contamination is from naturally occuring chemicals in the ground water.

[MillyVanillification]

@benrichie Lol. Are u in some state of denial? Maybe you should read about fracking from other than US-sites. The folks outside of the USA know a lot more about it, because the frackers abroad are not the owners of the news media. "Natural chemicals" do not pass the geological seal. If they would, they'd have been gone 40 million years ago. The goal of fracking is to set natural gas free and to rupture the seal in order to extract it. thats why you find it suddenly in tap water.

[DisturbedHavok]

I'm sure the Conservatives and Libertarians will claim that it is government regulation that is to blame for companies doing this. Of course, as usual, they miss the ACTUAL point which is - corporations are every bit as capable of being evil as government is, but unlike government, we have NO power over who runs corporations. We do have a say over the government and THAT is why the government needs to intervene (not pretend to intervene) on our behalf to stop this type of bullshit.

[Zakdayak]

@Fonzymazer Spamming on an important topic...what an ass.

[downwindspiral]

unfrackingbelieveable

[chuckyskeys]

UGLE WIndsor,Bush,Bp Oil by use of their 32nd degree baath party tool to manipulate islam ...bp halburton made all the money off the attacks they set up..I am a 33 degree master the 32nd degree is empower islam ,temple 1 was placed at ground zero ....100 plus years ago for this day and to erase america via jihad as we know it....also for oil mongers to use islam and get rich...

[henleythecat]

Gas is for burning, and water is for fighting over.

[grendelcatt]

just what we need, burning water.(ugh)

[NimonGralock]

@grendelcatt Burning water occurs AFTER it is at the surface and from leaks that occur on the surface. The only other way it could possibly happen is if the steel casing and/or the cement layers but this is checked by law and has to be submitted to the state to prove the well will not contaminate the water table.

[EmpathyWorks]

1st.