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Cancer Clusters found near pipelines

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The Germans are finding cancer clusters near pipelines that carry flowback and produced water. I strongly suggest you watch this video.

For those who can’t watch videos on their computers, here are the Cliff Notes.

  • In the middle of the largest area of drilling and fracking in Germany, there is a cancer cluster.
  • Small town, with cancer in one-third of homes – 27 homes with 10 cancer cases in 9 homes.
  • They’ve been fracking since the nineties. (Sound familiar?)
  • They pipe the flowback and produced water for disposal through pipelines. (Sound familiar?)
  • Testing the soil around these pipelines found 4000 micrograms of benzene. Five micrograms is hazardous to health.
  • Toxicologist says benzene is among the most “alarming chemicals we can imagine.”
  • The German Big Gas Mafia does not see the connection. (Sound familiar?)
  • There is a spiderweb of pipelines all over the place and the contamination found is widespread. (Sound familiar?)
  • The pipe looks like this: (Look familiar?)

  • A plastic and chemistry expert admits benzene will leak through. She says weeks–it can “someday” leak through within weeks.
  • They have known about this since the 60s. (Sound familiar?)
  • Benzene leaked through PE pipelines requiring a 4 year remediation and disposal of  2500 tons of soil.
  • ExxonMobil claims it only became known in 2007. (Interesting admission considering they are still using the pipe.)
  • A Google search reveals that manufacturers admit the pipe is unsuitable for materials containing benzene.
  • Squirming by regulatory agency that allowed pipe and so forth. (Sound familiar?)

I see  pipe that looks similar to what is shown in the video all over the Barnett Shale and it’s on top of the ground and still in use. In some areas, the Big Gas Mafia doesn’t even bother to pick it up. You can see this pipe lying around for years. There are several sections of it near Runner Susan’s home in the fields were children play.

I don’t know what kind of pipe they have buried all over the Barnett Shale. I have some information that was submitted to Flower Mound HERE and HERE.

Does anyone know what kind of pipe Hillwood and Quicksilver have buried all over Fort Worth to carry their flowback and produced water to the planned disposal wells? I looked at all the presentations on the city of Fort Worth website and I found no mention of pipeline materials. Someone might want to check that out SOONER rather than later. Oh, BTW, very nice presentations by Hillwood and Quicksilver showing the lovely pipelines surrounding the beautiful homes and development area.

QUESTION FOR INDUSTRY: How many ways can you screw this up?

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.

Comments

  1. GhostBlogger says

    I still remember the infamous series of photos from Elizabeth Burn’s old Ranch of duct tape to “fix” the leaking steel produced water pipeline.

    Yes, a number of plastics will be attacked by BTEX in produced water, to say nothing of what might be in those fancy trade secret fluids used in fracking. There are some plastics that tolerate BTEX better, but there’s the cost issue, plus who’s going to enforce this issue?

    • TXsharon says

      The RRC does not regulate the disposal pipelines so regulation is left up to the municipal ordinances. When you allow industry to influence the ordinances, you can’t expect much in the way of protection.

  2. Shropshire Lass says

    It gest worse, doesn’t it? This truly is a nightmare scenario. I am forwarding this to one of the WV delegates who has a bill to study fracking and health issues.

  3. kim Feil says

    I have an open records request to Ft Worth for the piping going to the Brentwood produced water evaporization station…poor Chesapeake…such trouble they might be in with this pilot project.

  4. Anonomous says

    It is common knowledge that most plastic and rubbers will leak when exposed to nearly all pressurized gasses. Even you tires leak a tiny bit when pressurized to some 30 psi. air pressure.

    • TXsharon says

      I doubt Flower Mound has these pipelines but I think you should find out for sure. I do know FOR SURE that there is a lot of this kind of pipeline used around here.

      And don’t let them tell you the produced water doesn’t have benzene in it. That’s bull.

  6. elizabeth burns says

    Oh, that damn polyline again!! Where that stuff really leaks is the couplings. There are cheap couplings for fresh water pipes and then the ones for the natural gas polyline are expensive. So, they use the fresh water couplings for the salt water pipes. We have that problem on our ExxonMobil ranch property. Constantly we have salt water bubbling up in the fields and on the roads.

    • GhostBlogger says

      Now, David, do you really think industry will listen to the advice of a non-industry trade group? Yet, if API came out & said “don’t use PE pipe for produced water”, I suspect it will be ignored.

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