Pennsylvania Natural Gas Blowout Spills Thousands of Gallons of Toxic Wastewater

[Nathanael]

Ironically enough on the anniversary of the BP blowout.

On the anniversary of the blowout of BP's Macando deepwater oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. energy industry is dealing with another fossil fuel spill -- this time it is a natural gas well in Pennsylvania.

Late Tuesday night Chesapeake Energy Corporation lost control of its Marcellus Shale well near Canton, Pennsylvania. The company reports that a piece of equipment failed during the hyrdraulic fracturing process. As a result, thousands of gallons of chemical-laden water have spilled out from the well into nearby fields and farms.

Local news outlet, WNEP reports that officials have stated the toxic fracking fluid has entered the Towanda Creek which feeds into the Susquehanna River.

Seven families have been evacuated from the area. A spokesperson for Chesapeake Energy said the families will be removed until the blowout is contained. "As a precautionary measure, seven families who live near the location have been temporarily relocated until all agencies involved are confident the situation has been contained. There have been no injuries or natural gas emissions to the atmosphere."

Link: http://www.energyboom.com/emerging/pennsylvania-natural-gas-blowout-spills-thousands-gallons-toxic-wastewater-local-community

[Scuba]

1. Once again, it's just no fun to say...

...I told you so.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x930158

[txlibdem]

2. Who keeps track of all of these toxic leaks from fossil fuels?

I wonder what the anti-nuke crowd will say about this: thousands of gallons of toxic waste water!!!

[Nihil]

3. Meh ... natural gas is a friend, not a fiend ...

(or something like that)

Until the wonderful replacement "smart" grid comes into place,
there's not going to be a lot of criticism for all the natural
gas power stations that are still required - or for any of their
toxic waste products (gaseous, liquid or solid).

"A necessary evil" and all that ...

:shrug:

[txlibdem]

4. With friends like that, who needs enemies?!?

I especially love the drilling pipes that are just lying on the ground at these sites -- pipes which are caked with radioactive material!

But the anti-nuke crowd wants to keep everyone in fear of the nuclear power plants, which emit far less radiation than any coal plant in operation.

FEAR THE RADIATION... except when it comes from coal or other fossil fuels ;-) (wink, wink).

[kristopher]

5. Are you claiming that building more fission reactors will stop the use of natural gas?

That sounds like what you are trying to imply. If so it is a totally false assumption.

The fastest route AWAY from all fossil fuels is a heavy focus on building a renewable, distributed infrastructure.

[Nihil]

6. No. Are you claiming that building more renewables will stop the use of natural gas?

That sounds like what *you* are trying to imply. If so it is a totally false assumption.

Heigh-ho ... maybe the solution is to bring in both wind & solar without thinking
that they can replace the current 4x7 baseload suppliers until they get a true foothold
in the energy market in their own right?

[kristopher]

7. Yes, I am.

Renewables generating sources go together in a different way than centralized thermal and there is every reason to think that the role of natural gas will be more easily eliminated from within the economics of that system than a paradigm where we continue to build around nuclear/coal economics.

[txlibdem]

8. It'll never happen without huge Feed In Tarrifs

As it stands, the cost of installing solar or wind is only affordable for the upper middle class.

Or for those who build their own homes and save the 30% off the top that the General Contractor puts in his pocket. If you have the time and some handy man skills you can save thousands more by doing some of the work yourself.

That is the only way any "regular" folks are going to be able to participate in your distributed grid.