Chesapeake Energy works to be a good environmental steward and to employ best practices in order to protect our community. As you may have heard, recent privately-funded studies suggest there are unregulated air emissions occurring in the Barnett Shale area which are allegedly leading to diminished air quality. The following information has been compiled to help place perspective on this important issue.
Current Air Quality
In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the greater Dallas/Fort Worth region to be an “ozone nonattainment area.” This designation means that the air quality in the North Texas area is poor and that it has not met the standards to reduce emissions set by the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The area received the status long before natural gas drilling became active in the Barnett Shale.
According to the TCEQ and the EPA, car and truck emissions are by far the largest sources and contributors to ozone formation in the nine-county DFW nonattainment area at 43%.
Recent Emissions Studies
Privately-funded air emission studies have been conducted in the Town of DISH and on a farm in Westworth Village. These studies represented data incorrectly and have exaggerated the potential hazards based on laboratory results from samples collected over a 24-hour period. Industrial Hygiene and Safety Technology, Inc. (IHST), an outside consultant retained by the City of Fort Worth to review these studies, has indicated the results from the Westworth Village farm study was “rudimentary and inaccurate” in nature. After technical review it is apparent that the same approach was used in the Town of DISH study. TCEQ is conducting further testing, and Chesapeake supports their efforts in obtaining more accurate and complete information regarding current emissions as related to the production of natural gas.
Click here to read the TCEQ press release entitled, Oil and Gas Air Test in Ft. Worth Find "No Cause for Concern."
Click here to read Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo's statement on Barnett Shale Air emissions issues.
Click on the icon to download or read the IHST study review.
Benzene
The production of natural gas in Tarrant, Dallas and eastern Johnson counties generates little to no benzene air emissions.
Benzene is a colorless chemical produced from a variety of sources. It is not unique to the natural gas industry. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), major sources of benzene include tobacco smoke, gas stations, motor vehicle exhaust, building materials, fireplaces and industrial emissions. Indoor air generally contains levels of benzene higher than outdoor air. Common indoor sources include glue, paint, detergent, furniture wax and stain.
For more information on benzene, click here.
Dry Gas vs. Wet Gas
The typical “dry” gas that Chesapeake is producing in Tarrant, eastern Johnson and western Dallas counties is virtually all methane and contains little to no liquid hydrocarbons, such as those commonly found in “wet” gas. These liquid hydrocarbons may include benzene or other chemical compounds.
To continue reading about air quality in the Barnett Shale, click here.
For More Information
Visit the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council at www.bseec.org.
Worries about natural
gas drilling are overblown
Fort Worth Star-Telegram │Friday, December 11, 2009