UT-Austin Administration Distances Itself from "Frackademia" Study

[Capt Bringdown]

UT-Austin brought itself attention when it published a "study" in February 2012 titled, "Separating Fact From Fiction in Shale Gas Development." UT-Austin's study - conducted under the wings of its Energy Institute - claimed that there's "no scientific proof" that unconventional oil and gas developement can be linked to groundwater contamination.

As it turns out, the author's lead investigator, Charles "Chip" Groat is on the payroll of the oil and gas industry via Plains Exploration & Production, a direct conflict-of-interest under the standards of academia (not to be confused with those of "frackademia"). "Groat earned more than double his University of Texas salary as a PXP board member in 2011 – $413,900 as opposed to $173,273 – and he has amassed over $1.6 million in stock during his tenure there," Public Accountability Initiative (PAI) explained in a report.

The embarassment created by these revelations moved Groat to retire after the spring semester, while the head of the Energy Institute, Raymond Orbach, stepped down today as head of the Institute, though he'll still remain on the UT-Austin faculty.
more -> (http://desmogblog.com/2012/12/06/breaking-ut-austin-administration-distances-itself-frackademia-study)

[mouse]

They really needed to do a study done on fracking linked to contaminated water?

That's like saying you need a study done on linking new inmates bloody assholes to their horny cell mates cocks.

[boutons_deux]

"They really needed to do a study done on fracking linked to contaminated water?"

The dubya/dickhead Repugs specificaly exempted fracking from Clean Water Act (because they knew fracking was disastrous water polluter) and blocked govt funding for fracking pollution studies. The assholes here would chirp in here saying "no studies have shown any pollution from fracking"

[mouse]

The problem with mentioning anything that is harmful to the planet or your children's health in this forum is that you most certainly get labeled as a Tree hugging Obama lover.



The truth is I actually think there are some Al Gore hating Global warming laughing die hard Bush loving Republicans that agree Fracking can only hurt ground water and they have to drink that shit like everyone else.

For some of you that don't get it....


lets say I keep pumping my hot gooey semen deep in your woman's mouth every day how long would it take before you stop kissing her?


dEB_Wwe-uBM

[boutons_deux]

First Study of Its Kind Detects 44 Hazardous Air Pollutants at Gas Drilling Sites

For years, the controversy over natural gas drilling has focused on the water and air quality problems linked to hydraulic fracturing, the process where chemicals are blasted deep underground to release tightly bound natural gas deposits.


But a new study reports that a set of chemicals called non-methane hydrocarbons, or NMHCs, is found in the air near drilling sites even when fracking isn't in progress.


According to a peer-reviewed study in the journal Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, more than 50 NMHCs were found near gas wells in rural Colorado, including 35 that affect the brain and nervous system. Some were detected at levels high enough to potentially harm children who are exposed to them before birth.


The authors say the source of the chemicals is likely a mix of the raw gas that is vented from the wells and emissions from industrial equipment used during the gas production process.


The paper cites two other recent studies on NMHCs near gas drilling sites in Colorado. But the new study was conducted over a longer period of time and tested for more chemicals than those studies did.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20121203/natural-gas-drilling-air-pollution-fracking-colorado-methane-benzene-endocrine-health-NMHC-epa-toxic-chemicals

[Wild Cobra]

Who thinks that NMHCs should not be found at drilling sites?

Another stupid article...

[boutons_deux]

Because WC knows NNHCs are present, there's no problem.

[CosmicCowboy]

Damn there is a lot of money involved. I was at a friends ranch this weekend whacking does and they had just brought a well in across his fence line that choked down is still producing 225 barrels a day. Do the math on that one...That's 8 million+ a year at $100 a barrel and there are thousands of wells like that and soon to be tens of thousands...that's just in the Eagle ford shale...there is a bigger oil deeper play in the Pearsall shale...

[TeyshaBlue]

First Study of Its Kind Detects 44 Hazardous Air Pollutants at Gas Drilling Sites

For years, the controversy over natural gas drilling has focused on the water and air quality problems linked to hydraulic fracturing, the process where chemicals are blasted deep underground to release tightly bound natural gas deposits.


But a new study reports that a set of chemicals called non-methane hydrocarbons, or NMHCs, is found in the air near drilling sites even when fracking isn't in progress.


According to a peer-reviewed study in the journal Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, more than 50 NMHCs were found near gas wells in rural Colorado, including 35 that affect the brain and nervous system. Some were detected at levels high enough to potentially harm children who are exposed to them before birth.


The authors say the source of the chemicals is likely a mix of the raw gas that is vented from the wells and emissions from industrial equipment used during the gas production process.


The paper cites two other recent studies on NMHCs near gas drilling sites in Colorado. But the new study was conducted over a longer period of time and tested for more chemicals than those studies did.
http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20121203/natural-gas-drilling-air-pollution-fracking-colorado-methane-benzene-endocrine-health-NMHC-epa-toxic-chemicals

Conclusion: Don't let pregnant women work on fracking sites.

In other news: Water is wet!

[CosmicCowboy]

Conclusion: Don't let pregnant women work on fracking sites.

In other news: Water is wet!

:lol

[cantthinkofanything]

Conclusion: Don't let pregnant women work on fracking sites.

In other news: Water is wet!

Guys...it's nothing to joke about. The amount of chemicals that is secretly being introduced into our ecosystem (and then unknowingly into our bodies) is nothing short of a bunch.
I was filling up my car the other day when I caught a distinct whiff of impure acetylene. After several minutes of heavy huffing, I identified the source as being the gas pump itself! After some more time had passed, I became light headed but still congnizant enough to realize that the VRWC was having its way with me in the name of profits to the Repug Council of Bilderberger. I was barely able to make it into the quick stop to buy my florescent taco chips and energy drink.

[boutons_deux]

"it's nothing to joke about."

It's futile, they're all Koch-sucking shills

[cantthinkofanything]

"it's nothing to joke about."

It's futile, they're all Koc-sucking shills







who? Spurstalk? This is where "they" are planting their shills?

[CosmicCowboy]

Mavs>Spurs was right, it's not the fracking, it is the circumcised peckers.

[TeyshaBlue]

bouton's gets his ass kicked everytime he cribs something about petroleum from his RSS feed.

Nothing new here.

[mouse]

Even though I point shit out about something doesn't mean I "personally" don't support something. I may point out the dangers of two hot women scissoring for 20 minutes but that doesn't mean I would not support or watch it happen.

If I had 2,000 acres of land that had made little money over the decades and some dude offered me 5 Million to pump some crap into my 10 acres of my 2000 acres you think I wouldn't at least ask him for his business card?

[TeyshaBlue]

You had me @ women scissoring.

[mouse]

Scissoring is so popular Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin could scissor their way to the presidency with 90% of all male votes and 98% of all lesbian votes. .

[boutons_deux]

Regulators Under Fire for Keeping Fracking Pollution Test Results Under Wraps


Regulators Accused of Hiding Test Results From the Public

On May 25, the Cornerstone Care community clinic in Pennsylvania's Washington County was temporarily shut down after being evacuated three times. Gusts of fumes had invaded the clinic for weeks, filling the building with nauseating odors and making patients and health care workers sick. The clinic remained closed until early July.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) investigated the odors at the clinic and determined that the fumes could not be linked to oil and gas drilling; but the agency has refused to hand over 400 pages of raw testing and quality control data to a concerned lawmaker.

State Rep. Jesse White, a Washington County Democrat, requested the records to share with independent scientists and researchers after the clinic shut down, but the state DEP denied his request.

White then filed a Right to Know request under Pennsylvania's sunshine law, but the agency said it was not required to hand over the records because they were part of a "non-criminal" investigation. White is quick to point out that, despite the non-criminal exemption, the agency could legally release the records if it chose to do so Pennsylvania DEP spokesperson Kevin Sunday told Truthout the agency refused to hand over the data to maintain the "confidentiality" of the air monitoring investigation, but did not explain why such data must be kept from public view.

"To date, the DEP has still refused to release the 400 pages of raw data, which is troubling for a variety of reasons," White wrote in a December 6 letter (http://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/11178) to DEP Secretary Michael Krancer. "Unless and until you release this data, I will continue to have serious concerns about DEP's commitment to transparency and openness in its operations."

White also wants to know why the DEP has withheld certain sets of test results from residents who believe their drinking water is contaminated by fracking.

Last year, samples from a Pennsylvania resident's drinking water were taken to a state lab to determine if the water had been contaminated by nearby fracking activity. The lab tested the water for 24 contaminants as required by federal standards, but the results for only eight of them were reported to the resident and the DEP's oil and gas division.

Kendra Smith, an attorney representing the resident in a lawsuit against the DEP, sent a letter (http://www.scribd.com/doc/111821139/Krancer-Letter) to Krancer alleging that his agency uses a "deliberate procedure" to withhold critical water test results from the public.

Tara Upadhyay, the technical director for the state lab where the water was tested, had confirmed in a sworn deposition that the water samples were tested for a full set of contaminants, but the lab only reported the results for eight heavy metals.

Upadhyay said that DEP field agents provide a "suite code" for lab tests that specifies which of the test results should be reported. Smith's client, for example, received test results for barium, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, sodium and strontium. The lab tested for 16 other contaminants; including boron, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, silicon, lithium, molybdenum and others, but the results of these tests were not reported to the resident or the oil and gas commission.

Several of the metals that were not reported to the resident are found in fracking waste water, Smith wrote, and many of them are carcinogenic or otherwise hazardous to human health. Smith demanded that Krancer review the procedure of using suite codes and urged the agency to share more crucial information with the public.

Smith's accusations angered Rep. White, who was already frustrated with DEP for withholding the air quality monitoring data from the Cornerstone clinic. The state lawmaker demanded an investigation to determine if "someone belongs in a jail cell."
"This is beyond outrageous. Anyone who relied on the DEP for the truth about whether their water has been impacted by drilling activities has apparently been intentionally deprived of critical health and safety information by their own government," White said in November. "There is no excuse whatsoever to justify the DEP conducting the water tests and only releasing partial information to residents, especially when the information withheld could easily be the source of the problem."

Secretary Krancer quickly defending the "suite code" procedure in a letter (http://files.dep.state.pa.us/AboutDEP/AboutDEPPortalFiles/RemarksAndTestimonies/Rep_Jesse_White_ltr.pdf) to White. Krancer stated that the industry has used the procedure to identify drilling contamination since 1991, and similar procedures are used in other states.

"Although other results are generated by the lab tests, such results would not contribute to answering the question at hand - determining whether there is a connection between gas well activities and the water supply," Krancer wrote.

Krancer added that, in the particular investigation in question, the levels of contaminants that were not reported to regulators and the concerned resident were below the maximum concentration allowed by law.

The controversy raged in the Pennsylvania media for weeks. Experts weighed in (http://files.dep.state.pa.us/AboutDEP/AboutDEPPortalFiles/RemarksAndTestimonies/Rep_Jesse_White_ltr_re_Test_Method_200_7_Thomas_Ha yes_Study_Tribune_R.pdf), telling media outlets that the "suite code" procedure is an industry standard, but agreed with White that, regardless of whether oil and gas drilling is to blame for water contamination, the people who drink and use the water could benefit from access to the full spectrum of test results.

Wilma Subra, a lead researcher behind the Earthworks report that linked fracking to health problems in Pennsylvania, told Truthout that communities near fracking operations are at a disadvantage because they do not have the resources to pay for extensive
testing and monitoring. For this reason, communities deserve to have access to all available data. The industry enjoys this privilege, Subra said, but communities often do not.

DEP officials continue to defend the procedure, arguing that the agency is simply doing its job - determining if fracking has caused water contamination.

White is not backing down. On December 6, the lawmaker once again demanded the air quality monitoring data from the Cornerstone clinic investigation and raised more question about water testing procedures.

"The DEP's ultimate explanation for leaving thousands of Pennsylvanians in the dark over the safety of their water is to say, 'That's just the way we do it around here, so tough luck,'" White said. "And I don't believe I'm alone when I call that brand of callous disregard for transparency and accountability unnerving and unacceptable."

Earthworks and researchers like Subra recommend that regulations be strengthened in Pennsylvania and other areas hit hard by the oil and gas boom. Public health should play a central role in permitting fracking and other industrial activities, and regulators and the industry should conduct health impact studies to identify potential problems before drilling begins.

When it comes to public health, they argue, the burden of proof should be on the oil and gas industry and its regulators, and not on the communities living in the shadows of fracking rigs.

http://truth-out.org/news/item/13268-report-links-fracking-to-health-problems-in-pennsylvania-regulators-under-fire-for-keeping-lab-results-under-wraps

WC, that's how REPUG PA does REPUG government (echos of Repug FEMA, MMS, etc) in tandem with corporations.

[CosmicCowboy]

:lol "accused"
:lol truthout

[boutons_deux]

Investigation Halted In Texas After Range Resources Protest
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/943943/thumbs/r-EPA-WATER-CONTAMINATION-INVESTIGATION-large570.jpg?6


When a man in a Fort Worth suburb reported his family's drinking water had begun "bubbling" like champagne, the federal government sounded an alarm: An oil company may have tainted their wells while drilling for natural gas.

At first, the Environmental Protection Agency believed the situation was so serious that it issued a rare emergency order in late 2010 that said at least two homeowners were in immediate danger from a well saturated with flammable methane. More than a year later, the agency rescinded its mandate and refused to explain why.

Now a confidential report obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with company representatives show that the EPA had scientific evidence against the driller, Range Resources, but changed course after the company threatened not to cooperate with a national study into a common form of drilling called hydraulic fracturing. Regulators set aside an analysis that concluded the drilling could have been to blame for the contamination.

For Steve Lipsky, the EPA decision seemed to ignore the dangers in his well, which he says contains so much methane that the gas in water pouring out of a garden hose can be ignited.

"I just can't believe that an agency that knows the truth about something like that, or has evidence like this, wouldn't use it," said Lipsky, who fears he will have to abandon his dream home in an upscale neighborhood of Weatherford.

The case isn't the first in which the EPA initially linked a hydraulic fracturing operation to water contamination and then softened its position after the industry protested.

A similar dispute unfolded in west-central Wyoming in late 2011, when the EPA released an initial report that showed hydraulic fracturing could have contaminated groundwater. After industry and GOP leaders went on the attack, the agency said it had decided to do more testing. It has yet to announce a final conclusion.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/epa-water-contamination-investigation-fracking_n_2484568.html?utm_hp_ref=daily-brief?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=011613&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NewsEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief

Corporations will fuck anybody and corrupt any govt that gets in their way of profits.

[Bartleby]

Conclusion: Don't let pregnant women work on fracking sites.

In other news: Water is wet!

Fortunately nobody drills near residential areas. :rolleyes