As I start to look deeper at the impact of drilling on the region’s health, I wanted to get an expert’s take, both in terms of public health and the other issues surrounding drilling.
Anita Barkin, DrPH, CRNP, Director of University Health Services at Carnegie Mellon University, agreed to answer a few of my questions. I should also note that Anita is a community activist in the battle against drilling, hosting meetings at her home and attending town halls regularly.
NN: What do you see as drilling’s most significant impact on public health?
AB: Air and water contamination. The water in the Mon (Monongahela River) is already compromised. There has been talk of the DEP (State Department of Environmental Protection) giving the Mon impaired status. Drillers will tell you that this is not due to Marcellus Shale drilling, but to mine run-off from coal and the contamination by industries along the river. I say you're right (mostly), but if the water is already impaired, what happens with increased drilling along with the draw off that will take place to drill more wells (it takes 2.5-5 million gallons of water to drill one well)? The water will come from rivers and streams.
Pittsburgh already has one of the highest rates of lung disease and asthma in the country. Radioactive materials are brought up in the "produced water". Carcinogens and neurotoxins are used in drilling and return to the surface in the produced water. Our current sewage plants are not equipped to remove these byproducts. We are playing Russian roulette with our greatest, limited resource: our water. Volatile organic compounds are in the impoundments and vaporize to contaminate our air. What happens when we add the contamination from drilling? Fort Worth, Texas has major air quality issues due to drilling.
NN: Have the companies been cooperative when it comest to meeting with citizens?
AB: They have up to now. However, since the election of Corbett, who took one million dollars in campaign contributions from the industry, they have been less responsive.
NN:What is the one thing people considering selling their land rights should take into account?
AB: What is the REAL level of compensation they will receive? The companies have asked for money back from landowners because they "miscalculated" the production. Also, people need to know that no independent source verifies production. The companies monitor the production themselves.
People who want to sign a lease should consult with an attorney with expertise in the field. The Landsmen sell you a bill of goods. What will the company do if your water is contaminated or your ground is contaminated? If your property loses value because of an "accident", I hope what they pay you is enough to make up for that.
NN: Of all the issues and possible consequences of drilling, what aren't people talking about that they should be?
AB: People who are in the know and have educated themselves have a pretty comprehensive idea about the concerns. The major problem is lack of knowledge in the general population about the impacts. They think that this is the shallow gas well drilling that has taken place historically. This is not shallow drilling and people need to understand the difference.
NN: Could this actually be good for the region?
AB: My belief is that the current industry will benefit only the corporations. Corporations are, by nature, out to make money; they are not out to protect the public (case in point - Gulf oil spill). From what I have heard, gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal but the current extraction method is a problem. There are ways to get the gas without some of the hazards but it costs more money to do it that way and corporations don't want to spend the money. By the way, don't buy the party line that this gas will make us energy independent - oil and gas are NOT interchangeable fuels.
What Struck Me...
A lot of what Anita said got my attention. Nothing more than how the public needs to understand the difference between traditional shallow drilling and this extreme deep drilling. I can remember growing up in this area and wishing we had natural gas on our property. People my parents knew were cleaning up and I wanted a piece of the action.
Marcellus Shale drilling is a whole other animal. Anita referenced the the Gulf spill when talking about corporations; I think the Gulf spill is a fantastic analogy to use in educating the public. The deep drilling in the Gulf was extreme and look what happened. Consider the potential for disaster with extreme drilling in populated areas.
Next Time and Beyond...
I am going to take a look at more of the ancillary dangers to the public, such as the heavy traffic being created on rural roads.
I will also take a long look at the economic impact of drilling. From the desire to drill to the desire to sell land right, money runs the show. But are the promised windfalls coming to fruition?
Nate, this was a great blog post. I learned from it. The energy companies, my employer included, must be so happy that their man got elected govenor.
ReplyDeleteI hope the greater Pittsburgh areas's water sources don't get completely polluted once again, as they did in the steel days. But I bet they will. I'm getting my own water filtration system.
Great just great!! I couldn't agree more. the state of New York is far more forward thinking than PA in that they have established a moratorium on this method of drilling until it is demonstrated that there is a safe method to extract this resource. Other conerns are a) where will the water needed to inject into the wells come from?? This is a limited resource ya know. b)There is also a concern that this method of drilling may incubatge earth quakes.
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