Tests show that fracking fluid kills vegetation!

I just received an email from The American Energy Coalition stating the following:

A controlled test, in a West Virginia Forest, of the chemical laced fluids used in natural gas drilling killed most of the vegetation and trees in the test area, according to a report by Bloomberg Businessweek. Lead researcher Mary Beth Adams, a soil scientist with the U.S. Forest Service, says that the damage to the trees and vegetation, detailed in a case study published in the Journal of Environmental Quality, shows the need for more research into gas industry practices. The test results are troubling, because gas drillers are using the fluids to extract natural gas from underground shale using the controversial method known as "fracking." Fracking is exempt from the federal Clean Drinking Water Act, and drillers often dispose of fracking fluids in public sewage systems that are not designed to treat them. The test was conducted by Berry Energy in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. The company sprayed 75,000 gallons of fracking fluid on a test site of less than one-half acre in the Monongahela National Forest. "Within a few days, all ground vegetation was dead". "Within 10 days, the leaves of the hardwoods began to turn brown and fall off. Within two years, more than half of the 150 trees were dead. "This study suggests that these fluids should be treated as toxic waste," argues Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. To read more about this story and to obtain a link to the Bloomberg Businessweek Article visit the AEC Web Site "americanenergycoalition.com". While there, you can read more about "Fracking" and how this extraction technique is believed to be harmful to the environment. The issue here for the Oilheat Industry, beyond the double standards being applied to Oil vs. Gas, is a price competitive one. By allowing the shale gas drillers to shortcut environmental safety standards, keeps their costs down and artificially lowers the cost of natural gas. Please visit our website at www.americanenergycoalition.com For questions please email [email protected] Remove my name from all future email correspondence Address postal inquiries to: American Energy Coalition

Source

I realize that this site is an oil coalition, but the facts are facts. The news story that I linked to below corroborates the email.

We need to follow up on this. There are more and more areas that are being 'fracked' now.

I don't know if we can get any help from elected officials since they are bought and paid for by the drillers.
Anyone have any ideas?

News Link

Correction, its not " fracking fluid" its produced fluid, i.e. what comes up from the ground after the frack job. It high in salinity and that’s whats damaging the plants in the study. Don’t believe me, try watering a plant with sea water and observe the results.

Originally posted by SirMike
Correction, its not " fracking fluid" its produced fluid, i.e. what comes up from the ground after the frack job. It high in salinity and that’s whats damaging the plants in the study. Don’t believe me, try watering a plant with sea water and observe the results.

Yes, it's the produced fluids that end up being spilled, blown out and leaking from the settling ponds, killing livestock and vegetation.

They can be high in salinity, but they are not necessarily highly saline. They can come up out of the ground highly acid and laced with sulfurous compounds too.

I don't believe that's great for the environment.

Uh, 75000 gallons of nearly anything poured onto just a half an acre will kill everything on that tiny plot of land.

Plant a tree kill a tree. Loggers do this all the time and it works out just fine.

Silly environmentalists

Originally posted by DerbyCityLights
Uh, 75000 gallons of nearly anything poured onto just a half an acre will kill everything on that tiny plot of land.

You obviously didnt read the report ... they only used one picoliter and tested it on a billion acres turning the once serene wilderness into a barren moon like landscape.

Originally posted by DerbyCityLights
Uh, 75000 gallons of nearly anything poured onto just a half an acre will kill everything on that tiny plot of land.

When they have a well blow out after the frac, you see a whole lot more than 75,000 gallons on a half acre.

The last one I saw in the news here in PA blew out over 1,000,000 gallons.

reply to post by butcherguy



That's kind of my point. If I took 75000 gallons of Sprite (or anything for that matter) and dumped it on less than half an acre, it would probably kill any vegetation in the area. Further more, if you deluged less than half an acre with 75000 gallons of liquid, you will get massive runoff and it would affect much more land than the initial test ground. I'd be interested in knowing just how they kept all that liquid on just a half an acre.

This article just reads like it was authored by Al Gore or one of his cronies.