Elevated levels of diesel range organic compounds in groundwater near Marcellus gas operations are derived from surface activities
Date
2015-08Author
Drollette, Brian D.
Concept link
Hoelzer, Kathrin
Concept link
Warner, Nathaniel R.
Concept link
Darrah, Thomas H.
Concept link
Karatum, Osman
Concept link
O’Connor, Megan P.
Concept link
Nelson, Robert K.
Concept link
Fernandez, Loretta A.
Concept link
Reddy, Christopher M.
Concept link
Vengosh, Avner
Concept link
Jackson, Robert B.
Concept link
Elsner, Martin
Concept link
Plata, Desiree L.
Concept link
Metadata
Show full item recordCitable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/7582As published
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511474112Keyword
Hydrophobic organic compounds; Groundwater; High volume hydraulic fracturing; Natural gas extraction; Transport mechanismsAbstract
Hundreds of organic chemicals are utilized during natural gas extraction via high volume
hydraulic fracturing (HVHF). However, it is unclear if these chemicals, injected into deep
shale horizons, reach shallow groundwater aquifers and impact local water quality, either
from deep underground injection sites or from the surface or shallow subsurface. Here,
we report detectable levels of organic compounds in shallow groundwater samples from
private residential wells overlying the Marcellus Shale in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Analyses of purgeable and extractable organic compounds from 64 groundwater samples
revealed trace levels of volatile organic compounds, well below the Environmental
Protection Agency’s maximum contaminant levels, and low levels of both gasoline range
(GRO; 0-8 ppb) and diesel range organic compounds (DRO; 0-157 ppb). A compound-specific analysis revealed the presence of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, which is a disclosed
HVHF additive, that was notably absent in a representative geogenic water sample and
field blanks. Pairing these analyses with 1) inorganic chemical fingerprinting of deep
saline groundwater, 2) characteristic noble gas isotopes, and 3) spatial relationships
between active shale gas extraction wells and wells with disclosed environmental health
and safety (EHS) violations, we differentiate between a chemical signature associated
with naturally occurring saline groundwater and a one associated with alternative
anthropogenic routes from the surface (e.g., accidental spills or leaks). The data support a
transport mechanism of DRO to groundwater via accidental release of fracturing fluid
chemicals derived from the surface rather than subsurface flow of these fluids from the
underlying shale formation.
Description
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of National Academy of Sciences for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of American 112 (2015): 13184-13189, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1511474112
.
Collections
Suggested Citation
Preprint: Drollette, Brian D., Hoelzer, Kathrin, Warner, Nathaniel R., Darrah, Thomas H., Karatum, Osman, O’Connor, Megan P., Nelson, Robert K., Fernandez, Loretta A., Reddy, Christopher M., Vengosh, Avner, Jackson, Robert B., Elsner, Martin, Plata, Desiree L., "Elevated levels of diesel range organic compounds in groundwater near Marcellus gas operations are derived from surface activities", 2015-08, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511474112, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/7582Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Transport of organic carbon from the California coast to the slope region : a study of Δ14C and δ13C signatures of organic compound classes
Hwang, Jeomshik; Druffel, Ellen R. M.; Komada, Tomoko (American Geophysical Union, 2005-05-05)Surface sediments along a transect from an abyssal site in the northeastern Pacific (Station M, 34°50′N, 123°00′W) to a small mountainous river on the California coast (Santa Clara River) were studied to investigate the ... -
Carbon isotope composition of organic compounds produced by abiotic synthesis under hydrothermal conditions
McCollom, Thomas M.; Seewald, Jeffrey S. (2006-01-12)Although it is widely believed that production of organic compounds by Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and related processes occurs in many geologic environments, unambiguous identification of compounds with an abiotic origin ... -
Investigation of extractable organic compounds in deep-sea hydrothermal vent fluids along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
McCollom, Thomas M.; Seewald, Jeffrey S.; German, Christopher R. (2015-01)The possibility that deep-sea hydrothermal vents may contain organic compounds produced by abiotic synthesis or by microbial communities living deep beneath the surface has led to numerous studies of the organic composition ...