1/25/2016

FrackFluidSpillinDimockContaminatesStream,KillingFishProPublica
Fracking
GasDrilling'sEnvironmentalThreat

FrackFluidpillinDimockContaminatetream,KillingFih
byAbrahmLustgarten
ProPublica,Sep.21,2009,3:09p.m.

Sept.22:Thisposthasbeencorrected[1].
Pennsylvaniaenvironmentofficialsareracingtocleanupasmuchas8,000gallonsofdangerous
drillingfluidsafteraseriesofspillsatanaturalgasproductionsitenearthetownofDimocklast
week.
Thespills,whichoccurredatawellsiterunbyCabotOilandGas,involveacompound
manufacturedbyHalliburtonthatisdescribedasa"potentialcarcinogen"andisusedinthe
drillingprocessofhydraulicfracturing,accordingtostateofficials.Thecontaminantshaveseeped
intoanearbycreek,whereafishkillwasreportedbythestateDepartmentofEnvironmental
Protection.TheDEPalsoreportedfish"swimmingerratically."
AdrillsiteentrancenearthespillsiteinDimock,
Pa.,takenthispastwinter.(AbrahmLustgarten
/ProPublica)

Theincidentisthelatestinaseriesofenvironmentalproblems[2]connectedtoCabotsdrillingin
theDimockarea.Lastwinter,drinkingwaterinseveralareahomes[3]wasfoundtocontain
metalsandmethanegasthatstateofficialsdeterminedleakedundergroundfromCabotwells.And
inthespring,thecompanywasfinedforseveralotherspills,includingan800gallondieselspill

fromatruckthatoverturned.
NeitherCabotOilandGasnorHalliburtonimmediatelyreturnedcallsforcommentonMonday.A
Halliburtonspokespersonsentanemailreferringanyquestionstoinformationonthecompanys
Website.
DEPofficialswerealsounavailableforinterviews,butsaidthroughemailthatfaultypipingis
suspectedandthattheyhavenotconfirmedtheexactcauseofthespill.Apressspokespersonsaidto
expectanannouncementandactionstowardCabotbyTuesday.

Dimock,Penn.

ProPublicainterviewedstateofficialsseveralmonthsagoaboutdrillingproblemsinDimock[2]."Cabothasdefinitelyhadtheirshareof
problemsoutthere,"CraigLobins,aregionaloilandgasdivisiondirector,saidthen."Someofthemisjustbeingalittlebitcarelessor
sloppy,ormaybealittlebitofbadlucktoo."
ThedrillingfluidspillWednesdaymaybethemostseriousyet,becauseitinvolveschemicalsthatareknowntoposearisktohumanhealth
andhasspreadintotheareassurfacewatersystem.
AccordingtoaMaterialSafetyDataSheetprovidedtothestatethisweekbyHalliburton,thespilleddrillingfluidcontainedaliquidgel
concentrateconsistingofaparaffinicsolventandpolysaccharide,chemicalslistedaspossiblecarcinogensforpeople.TheMSDSformfor
HalliburtonsproprietaryproductcalledLGC35CBMdoesnotlisttheentiremakeupofthegelorthequantityofitsconstituents,butit
warnsthatthesubstanceshaveledtoskincancerinanimalsand"maycauseheadache,dizzinessandothercentralnervoussystemeffects"
toanyonewhobreathesorswallowsthefluids.
Itisnotyetclearexactlywhatledtoorcausedthespill.Stateofficialsreportthatatleast1,000gallonsoffluidwerespilledWednesday
afternoon,andanother5,900gallonsabout10thatnight.Thesubstancewasreportedlyaclaylikemixture,withtheHalliburtongelmixed
ataboutfivegallonsper1,000gallonsofwater.ADEPspokespersonsaidinanemailthatthespillsappeartobetheresultofsupplypipe
failures.Inonecaseapressurizedlinemayhavebroken,andinanotherasealmayhavegivenway.Stateofficialssaidthefluidshadspilled
intoStevensCreek.
Thecontaminationincidentcomesasthestatefacesincreasingscrutinyforitshandlingofanaturalgasdrillingboomanddozensof
instancesofspillsandwatercontaminationrelatedtoitacrossthestate.EarlierinvestigationsbyProPublicafoundthatmethanehad
leakedintodrinkingwatersuppliesfromgaswellsinatleastsevenPennsylvaniacounties.AndearlierthismonththeDEPbegan
investigatingasuspectedchemicalspillinthenorthwesternpartofthestate,hundredsofmilesfromDimock,whichdecimatedaquaticlife
alonga30milestretchofpristineriver.Nodeterminationhasbeenmadeinthatcaseeither,butwastefluidsfromdrillingareamongthe
possibilitiesbeinginvestigated.
Correction:Thisstoryhasbeenupdated.AdescriptionofthespillprovidedinthestorybyVincentFrondaactuallyreferredtoaSept.3
dischargeneartheCabotwellsiteinquestion.Itwasseveralhundredfeetawayandseparatefromthefracturingfluidspillthatoccurred
lastWednesday.Thephotographthataccompaniedthestory,whichwassenttoProPublicabyaDimockresident,wasalsoofthatearlier
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FrackFluidSpillinDimockContaminatesStream,KillingFishProPublica

spill.Boththephotoandthedescriptivepassagehavebeenremoved.
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1.http://www.propublica.org/feature/frackfluidspillindimockcontaminatesstreamkillingfish921#photo_correx
2.http://www.propublica.org/feature/waterproblemsfromdrillingaremorefrequentthanofficialssaid731
3.http://www.propublica.org/feature/officialsinthreestatespinwaterwoesongasdrilling426
4.http://twitter.com/AbrahmL
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