On June 17, 2015, the
scientific American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology published a
peer-reviewed study entitled “A Comprehensive Analysis of
Groundwater Quality in The Barnett Shale Region.” The study addresses whether
unconventional oil and gas extraction activities in the Barnett shale formation
of Texas have had significant impacts on groundwater quality.
The researchers used
550 groundwater samples collected from private and public water wells within
the Barnett shale formation to determine the presence of elevated natural
constituents and substances associated with the use of hydraulic fracturing.
This study also examines changes in groundwater quality compared with a previous study
entitled “An evaluation of water quality in private drinking water wells near
natural gas extraction sites in the barnett shale formation” and published in
the same scientific journal in 2013.
After reviewing the
water samples, authors of the study established the presence of several
volatile organic carbon compounds associated with hydraulic fracturing in
aquifers overlying the Barnett shale formation. Nevertheless, they highlighted
that such discovery “does not necessarily implicate unconventional [oil and
gas] extraction as the source of contamination; however, it does provide an
impetus for further monitoring and analysis of groundwater quality in this
region.”
Written by Chloe Marie - Research Fellow
06/18/2015
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