Well, I don’t know what to think anymore. To hear Aruba Petroleum’s Pinocchio tell it, the Ruggiero family is proud harborer of one super-duper safe Barnett Shale gas well. Pinocchio claims that thing is so safe they can turn their horses out to graze right next to it and their daughter, Reilly, can use the condensate tanks to practice barrel racing. Not a thing to worry about.
Christine and Reilly drive by their gas well everyday and no one has demanded they wear a hard hat. They walk around in the pasture without a mention of steel-toed boots.
Heck, in DISH Texas, drilling activity is so extra super-duper safe you can barbecue right in the middle of it.
So, imagine my surprise when I read the affidavits from El Paso E&P managers (starting on about page 28) saying that their gas wells are super-duper dangerous.
El Paso E&P’s gas wells are so extremely dangerous that you can’t even take “a small camera (about the size of a tape recorder)” anywhere near them. And poor Mrs Burns was standing right there with her little old camera endangering all those oil field workers by taking some of her home movies.
I guess if it’s too dangerous for a camera then the guys can’t even bring their cell phones around because those things have cameras too. And, if taking a picture could cause a well to explode just think what might happen if a wife or girlfriend calls on your cell phone.
Around an Aruba well, cell phones are in constant use so I’m not sure what the difference is.
I’m wondering if the wells grow exponentially more dangerous as the number of YouTube video uploades increase. Since Mrs. Burns is was ahead of the Ruggiero’s in YouTube videos, I’m guessing they have a ways to go before they will need their hard hat fitting.
Don’t miss the comment from Christine about how super-duper safe her well is.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
- Web |
- More Posts(5121)
Wow. I'm glad we have one of those super-safe wells. I have asked the Railroad Commission if I needed to quarantine off the areas of the spills and the bubbling pit 200 feet from our barn and our home for the safety of my daughter and her horse, but have yet to receive a response. I have asked the TCEQ if there are any precautionary measures I should take given the highly asphyxiant and flammable compounds being released 200 feet from my daughter and her horse and was told that the sample was taken 56 feet from the emission source downwind. We are 200 feet from the emission source downwind and from what I can gather all of the compounds are heavier than air and collect in low lying areas. Has the Railroad Commission or TCEQ advised Ms. Burns that it is not safe?
During the two month drilling process, it was perfectly acceptable to Aruba to force my daughter and I to drive 30 feet from their operation at least twice a day in order to get her to and from school. I was never offered or told that I must where steel-toed boots or a hard hat (I did ask by way of email to the executives of Aruba if we needed this protective gear. They didn't respond). It was also perfectly acceptable to Aruba that my daughter's play area was 200 feet from their waste and pit and she had a clear view of it everytime she went outside. All harmless stuff in that waste pit I'm sure. It's a super-safe well, so it must be super-safe waste too.
If Ms. Burns needs this information to show disparity in the industry's concern for her safety we will be happy to provide it to her. I have a great deal of documentation regarding my concern for the safety of my daughter and the proximity to her home throughout the entire operation that has been ignored, and will be happy to share it.
Perhaps Aruba and El Paso should get together and discuss what is safe and what is not. No one has stopped me from wandering around the asphyiant loaded condensate tanks and bubbling pit for months. I haven't been advised as to my shoe choice or whether I should where a respirator or anything. The operator has even said that I will be able to release our horses, and therefore, my daughter, right next to it.