Crossposted from UNBOSSED
I meant to post this a few weeks ago.
Oil Companies Settle MTBE Pollution Suit May 7, 2008
A dozen oil companies agreed to pay $423 million in cash plus clean-up costs to settle litigation over groundwater contamination from the gasoline additive, MTBE, lawyers representing public water utilities and public agencies in 17 states, said Wednesday.
I hope this is the future of fracking fluids.
The settlement, filed in the Federal District Court in Manhattan, reportedly involves BP America, the Chevron Corporation, ConocoPhillips , Shell Oil, Marathon Oil, Venezuela?s Citgo Petroleum, Sunoco Inc. and the Valero Energy Corporation. The one big holdout was ExxonMobil Corporation, said Robert Gordon, of Weitz and Luxenberg, one of the three lead lawyers for the plaintiffs. Five smaller companies, including the Lyondell Petrochemical Corporation, the chemical's maker, have not settled.
fracking fluids have significant and generally unacknowledge health impacts. I've written about this extensively and without a doubt, we will see the day when large numbers of people go after the oil and gas industry for the health problems caused by these fluids.
Hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking'
is a method of stimulating oil and gas wells. Typically, it involves pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of fluids and sand into the oil or gas formation. At a certain point, the formation will crack open. Studies have found that anywhere between 25 and 82% of the fluids will return to the surface, but some chemicals are preferentially trapped in the formation. At the surface, the flowback fluids are held in pits or tanks prior to disposal. The sand is left in the formation to hold open the fractures, thus creating larger pathways for the hydrocarbons to flow to the well.
I just dont understand why this nation has to ruin the lives of tens of thousands of people for short-term profits. We do it again and again and again and we never learn.
h/t: TH