Dr. Conrad Volz displayed a photograph of brine- and chemical-laden natural gas wastewater pouring into a western Pennsylvania stream from a treatment facility in Josephine. "This has to be stopped," he declared. "This is a public health emergency." Volz, director of the University of Pittsburgh Center for Healthy Environments and Communities, came to Misericordia University on Monday at the request of the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition to speak about the impact of Marcellus Shale drilling on public health. Recent revelations by The New York Times that improperly treated wastewater containing brine, radioactive material and other harmful substances is finding its way into the state's bodies of water, along with the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority's consideration of a treatment facility in Hanover Township and two potential natural gas metering stations near the Dallas schools made the presentation timely. Two main problems with natural gas drilling is the potential for explosions and blowouts at wells, compressor stations and pipelines, and the fact that the state often allows drilling wastewater to get into the environment after inadequate treatment, according to Volz. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," involves sending millions of gallons of chemical-treated water to open cracks in the shale and release the gas. In addition to the chemicals, the water picks up salts, naturally occurring radioactive material, barium, magnesium and various other volatile organic ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWwjWFcCIgY&hl=en
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