Advocacy group questions validity of Carroll County air quality study
Friday, May 29, 2015
Energy In Depth (EID), an oil and gas industry advocacy group, has questioned the validity of the air quality study conducted in Carroll County, Ohio. The Business Journal reports that the authors of the study have admitted that the sample size for the study wasn’t big enough and that the research methods wasn’t practical.
The facets of the study that EID questioned include: the objectivity of the volunteers for the study’s sample and the small sample size. EID also questioned why polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from wood and coal burning were not accounted for in the study. A fourth shortcoming identified by EID is why ‘worst case scenarios’ were assumed.
The newspaper states that reports from groups like the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and Cherry Fork School District in Washington County, Pennsylvania, came up with results that didn’t show detrimental effects from hydraulic.
Via: The Business Journal > Advocacy Group Blasts Utica Shale Air Quality Study
Related:
Leave a Comment
Marcellus & Utica Shale Well Map
Additional Shale Maps
Shale FAQ
What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.