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Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Osborn, SG; Vengosh, A; Warner, NR; Jackson, RB
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
May 2011

Directional drilling and hydraulic-fracturing technologies are dramatically increasing natural-gas extraction. In aquifers overlying the Marcellus and Utica shale formations of northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York, we document systematic evidence for methane contamination of drinking water associated with shale-gas extraction. In active gas-extraction areas (one or more gas wells within 1 km), average and maximum methane concentrations in drinking-water wells increased with proximity to the nearest gas well and were 19.2 and 64 mg CH(4) L(-1) (n = 26), a potential explosion hazard; in contrast, dissolved methane samples in neighboring nonextraction sites (no gas wells within 1 km) within similar geologic formations and hydrogeologic regimes averaged only 1.1 mg L(-1) (P < 0.05; n = 34). Average δ(13)C-CH(4) values of dissolved methane in shallow groundwater were significantly less negative for active than for nonactive sites (-37 ± 7‰ and -54 ± 11‰, respectively; P < 0.0001). These δ(13)C-CH(4) data, coupled with the ratios of methane-to-higher-chain hydrocarbons, and δ(2)H-CH(4) values, are consistent with deeper thermogenic methane sources such as the Marcellus and Utica shales at the active sites and matched gas geochemistry from gas wells nearby. In contrast, lower-concentration samples from shallow groundwater at nonactive sites had isotopic signatures reflecting a more biogenic or mixed biogenic/thermogenic methane source. We found no evidence for contamination of drinking-water samples with deep saline brines or fracturing fluids. We conclude that greater stewardship, data, and-possibly-regulation are needed to ensure the sustainable future of shale-gas extraction and to improve public confidence in its use.

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Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

May 2011

Volume

108

Issue

20

Start / End Page

8172 / 8176

Related Subject Headings

  • Water Supply
  • Water Pollution
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Methane
  • Industrial Waste
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Environmental Monitoring
 

Citation

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Osborn, S. G., Vengosh, A., Warner, N. R., & Jackson, R. B. (2011). Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(20), 8172–8176. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1100682108
Osborn, Stephen G., Avner Vengosh, Nathaniel R. Warner, and Robert B. Jackson. “Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108, no. 20 (May 2011): 8172–76. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1100682108.
Osborn SG, Vengosh A, Warner NR, Jackson RB. Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2011 May;108(20):8172–6.
Osborn, Stephen G., et al. “Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 108, no. 20, May 2011, pp. 8172–76. Epmc, doi:10.1073/pnas.1100682108.
Osborn SG, Vengosh A, Warner NR, Jackson RB. Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2011 May;108(20):8172–8176.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

ISSN

0027-8424

Publication Date

May 2011

Volume

108

Issue

20

Start / End Page

8172 / 8176

Related Subject Headings

  • Water Supply
  • Water Pollution
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Methane
  • Industrial Waste
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Environmental Monitoring