| Autor: |
Shaheen SW; Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States., Wen T; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244, United States., Herman A; Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States., Brantley SL; Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.; Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States. |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Zdroj: |
Environmental science & technology [Environ Sci Technol] 2022 Jul 19; Vol. 56 (14), pp. 10010-10019. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Jun 29. |
| DOI: |
10.1021/acs.est.2c00001 |
| Abstrakt: |
Unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) sometimes impacts water resources, including incidents of methane (CH 4 ) migration from compromised wells and spills that degrade water with salts, organics, and metals. We hypothesized that contamination may be more common where UOGD overlaps with legacy coal, oil, and gas extraction. We tested this hypothesis on ∼7000 groundwater analyses from the largest U.S. shale gas play (Marcellus), using data mining techniques to explore UOGD contamination frequency. Corroborating the hypothesis, we discovered small, statistically significant regional correlations between groundwater chloride concentrations ([Cl]) and UOGD proximity and density where legacy extraction was extremely dense (southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA)) but no such correlations where it was minimal (northeastern Pennsylvania). On the other hand, legacy extraction of shallow gas in SWPA may have lessened today's gas leakage, as no regional correlation was detected for [CH 4 ] in SWPA. We identify hotspots where [Cl] and [CH 4 ] increase by 3.6 and 3.0 mg/L, respectively, per UOG well drilled in SWPA. If the [Cl] correlations document contamination via brines leaked from wellbores, impoundments, or spills, we calculate that thallium concentrations could exceed EPA limits in the most densely developed hotspots, thus posing a potential human health risk. |
| Databáze: |
MEDLINE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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