Air Quality Effects of Titan’s Stage one Frack: Toxic at 1700 feet
Citizens pay for Testing During Titans Mini-Frack
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24th, 2012
CONTACTS:
Gordon Aalund, Southlake resident & MD: 214-724-5680
Chuck Harper, Arlington resident: 214-535-3408
Sharon Wilson, Earthworks: 940-389-1622
Independent test results show fracking flowback emissions are dangerous toxics, not "steam"
Texas town ignores own test results to allow fracking to continue in violation of city ordinances, endangering local residents
Colleyville, TX, April 24 -- Today Colleyville and Southlake residents, and Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project released results from local residents’ privately-funded air testing of Titan Operations’ “mini-frack” on the border of both communities. The tests, performed by GD Air Testing Inc. of Richardson, TX, prove emissions released during fracking and flowback contain dangerous levels of toxic chemicals.
“We paid for tests because we can’t depend on the city or the fracking industry,” said Colleyville resident Kim Davis. She continued, “The tests confirmed our worst fears, while Colleyville ignored their own tests to let fracking continue. Apparently the city represents Titan and the gas industry instead of local residents.”
Colleyville City ordinances expressly prohibit the release of any gases: “No person shall allow, cause or permit gases to be vented into the atmosphere or to be burned by open flame.”
The community-funded test results, which detected twenty-six chemicals, also showed carbon disulfide, a neurotoxin at twice the state level for short-term exposure. Benzene, a known carcinogen, and Naphthalene, a suspected carcinogen, were both over state long-term exposure levels by more than 9 times and more than 7 times, respectively. Carbonyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide and Pyridine were all detected above safe limits for long-term exposure.
Gordon Aalund, an MD with toxicology training who lives in Southlake and practices emergency medicine said, “Exceeding long and short term exposure limits to these toxics places us all at increased and unneeded risk.” He went on to say, “When your government fails to protect you and the company cannot be trusted, private citizens are forced to act.”
The Colleyville results indirectly confirm the suspicions of Arlington-area residents about air pollution from ongoing Chesapeake Energy fracking and flowback operations in their neighborhood since December 2011. Residents who experienced health impacts were told by Chesapeake that flowback emissions were only “steam”. When challenged to substantiate its claims with public testing, the company failed to respond.
“It’s great that concerned citizens in the Colleyville-area have the wherewithal to pay for their own testing when government fails to do its job. But I live in southeast Arlington, where our community doesn’t have the resources to do government’s job for it,” said Arlington resident Chuck Harper. He continued, “Why isn’t TCEQ doing these tests? If the watchdog isn’t watching, who do we turn to for protection?”
“It’s state and local failures like these that make plain the need to close fracking loopholes in federal environmental laws,” said Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project organizer Sharon Wilson. She continued, “When TCEQ can’t be bothered to protect their own citizens, when cities ignore their own laws, when companies lie to communities left, right and center, there’s nowhere else to turn.“
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Colleyville Town Ordinance (Prohibition of gas venting at pages 3.1-17 and 3.1-10): http://bit.ly/Colleyville-Gases-Code
GD Air Testing Inc. results:
http://www.earthworksaction.org/library/detail/titan_air_testing_data_1
http://www.earthworksaction.org/library/detail/titan_air_testing_data_2
http://www.earthworksaction.org/library/detail/titan_air_testing_data_3
Background/analysis of GD Air Testing Inc. results:
Map:
http://www.earthworksaction.org/library/detail/titan_air_samples_map
Violations indicated in test results:
http://www.earthworksaction.org/library/detail/titan_list_of_compounds
Wilma Subra analysis of test results:
http://www.earthworksaction.org/library/detail/titan_energy_mini_frack_in_colleyville_southlake_texas
Earthworks is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the impacts of irresponsible mineral and energy development while seeking sustainable solutions.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Colleyville's will take issue with the methods and analysis, but this study does not replace or refute theirs, rather it confirms and supplements it.
Colleyville's own final report recommends vapor recovery units and separator pipes based on the vented gases THEY detected during this stage one fracking.
Our data shows that vented gases were detectable at levels exceeding TCEQ recommendations 1700 ft away from the pad site.
TCEQ is saying they can't comment on test results from someone else because they don't know what methodology was used. The EPA came up with the methodology that GD Air uses. TCEQ also uses GD Air to analyze their summa canisters. TCEQ often leaves canisters for residents to deploy on their own, just like Colleyville and Southlake residents did.
The Colleyville consultant has questioned out methodology according to the teaser on Channel 11, but it is the same methodology used by the EPA and TCEQ.
Another critique is that residents did not call TCEQ. They are so slow to respond residents felt they had to act on their own.
This exposure could have been prevented or reduced if Titan had not violated Colleyville's ordinance and vented gas.
Southlake's current ordinance requires vapor recovery and prohibits venting. Some residents in Southlake want to weaken our ordinance. This case makes me question that logic. If drilling continues to happen in and around Southlake, 1000 ft setback are not going to be enough to protect you. We will we need vigorous enforcement and monitoring to ensure our safety.
