This week’s post on fracking involves a rather terrifying article that Mrs. Summers sent me. I had previously been aware that it is possible for the disposal of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing to cause earthquakes. Basically, disposing of the fluid is a lot like fracking, but nothing comes back up. Wastewater is forced at extremely high pressures (up to 3200psi) deep underground where it hopefully can’t come back up. Apparently, this can cause some small issues, such as minor earthquakes. The evidence that this happens is irrefutable: in some areas near disposal wells the incidence of earthquakes has increased by about 12 times. Areas that used to have a quake every 9 months now have two per month. That’s not good. What this news story is really about is one specific earthquake. In 2011, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake was caused by wastewater injection in Oklahoma. For comparison, the earthquake that damaged the Washington Monument was a 5.8. This isn’t just a little rattle anymore- this could actually cause damage and hurt people. As a comparison, here’s a 5.8/5.9 quake:
So should we be worried about this? Yeah, probably. However, a few disclaimers first:
- Induced seismicity has only been shown at a handful of well sites compared to hundreds of injection wells that haven’t had issues.
- This earthquake event is quite exceptional. Nothing like it has been seen with injection wells before.
- The pumping itself doesn’t actually cause the earthquake. Injecting the water can change stresses on rocks that cause earthquakes along pre-existing fault lines that do make earthquakes anyway. The injection may just increase their frequency and intensity.
This graphic from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Earth Sciences Division shows a map of earthquakes underground and how they occur near wells.
Induced seismicity has occurred several times before with other projects, such as huge dams. Incredible amounts of weight can be added to the land by dams holding back cubic miles of water. This has caused earthquakes in the past much larger than those caused by fracking. As the weight of the water behind these dams presses on the rock beneath it, it can shift fault lines a bit and potentially release a devastating earthquake. As an example, the magnitude 8.0 2008 Sichuan Earthquake in China was probably caused by Zipingpu Dam, a massive hydroelectric project. That killed 80,000 people. As the weight of the water behind these dams presses on the rock beneath it, it can shift fault lines a bit and potentially release a devastating earthquake.
Are we at risk back here in the USA for something of that magnitude? Well, maybe. Most wastewater disposal wells are in areas with shale gas industries. Out of these, I could find at least three injection wells that are present in geologically active regions which especially concerned me. They are in the Wabash Valley Seismic Region in Illinois, a region that has been known to produce earthquakes up to magnitude 7.5 in the past. (Note- At some point while cruising through EPA databases on different injection wells in the Midwest I just realized that I’ve spent way too much time on this. So in case you’re wondering, the wells in question are in Douglas County, Illinois and are available for your nerdy viewing pleasure here.) Without more information, I cannot say for absolute certain that these wells are ticking timebombs ready to take out Springfield and Chicago. I can say that we should really be more careful, though.
Notice the overlap in Wabash Valley of shale gas and seismic activity. Graphic by: ME!
Headline Photo Credit: http://www.occupytheyouth.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/frack-picWD.jpg
Injection wells in Illinois: http://epa.gov/r5water/uic/cl1sites.htm#il_active
Map of Illinois Counties: http://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/images/0/06/Illinois-county-map.gif
Info on Wabash Valley Seismic Zone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabash_Valley_Seismic_Zone
Another awesome post, Tim. I always especially appreciate the graphics you choose because they really help explain these concepts. Does the waste water from fracking have to go back into the ground? Are there people working on something else to do with it? (Maybe send it to space? Just kidding!)
For you, where does this problem rank in terms of other issues with fracking? It seems like maybe it’s not that pressing, since we haven’t observed too many serious earthquakes. Are the other potential problems more serious?
Melissa: To be honest, I don’t think we can stop fracking. We need our government’s help, and so far they have been completely unwilling to stop the process. Citizens can do some part, such as by protesting and overall putting up a fuss (yet stopping short of terroristic threats.) As an encouraging story, several years back there was a plan to put a landfill north of Black Moshannon. People (including myself) got VERY pissed about it and put up enough of a mess, complete with signs, protests, and standing in the way of construction equipment, that the entire project was abandoned. Maybe a similar technique is necessary.
Rachel: Thanks for the encouragement! I personally do not understand how this sort of thing is legal. Actually, I guess I do. Those in our state government are bought and paid for by the natural gas industry. You’d be amazed at the amount of money they have donated to political campaigns. ( http://marcellusmoney.org/ )
Will: So far, fracking companies have no incentive to use safer chemicals. However, Shawn pointed out some ways that we could make fracking safer in his CI blog last week ( http://sites.psu.edu/oneill137h/2013/03/20/fracking-what-now/ ). Heavier fines for companies that screw up are also important. As an example of how being unsafe can pay off, we have had the local issues of fracking fluid trucks blowing by stopped school buses locally. Sometimes they get a ticket; most of the time they don’t. However, it makes economic sense for them to just keep driving and stay on schedule even if they have to pay fines upon occasion. Until we bring down harsher laws, companies have no reason to comply.
Tim I like the way that this article is presented. At the beginning you allow the reader to observe what this new challenge of fracking; where all of the waste goes. This new product is forced into the ground where it really isn’t meant to be. I like that you give me something to compare my knowledge of earthquakes to. I see a video of what happened in D.C. and can relate that to what might happen in an area that you are talking about. Also one of my favorite parts of this is the disclaimer section. Not only does this make me think you’re official, it helps me understand both sides of the tracking. Not every specific case is like this. Fracking gets a bad rap from most people and here you are explicitly saying you’re not just trashing tracking, but identifying the problems and issues. This extends the conversation much further. My question to you is, how do tracking companies be more careful? Is there some chemical that they can use instead of what they are using now? Why do they use what they do now and how do they not identify the dangers in what they are doing?
I’ve always wanted to experience an earthquake! Not a serious one or one caused by fracking, though, don’t worry. When I was a junior, we had a small earthquake that I of course slept through. I never knew that fracking could cause these natural disasters! It’s sad to me that these earthquakes, that can potentially be life threatening, are being caused by waste. I know that waste is a huge issue with your topic, and causing a natural disaster is definitely not something that should be ignored. I don’t understand how this could still be legal? Or even how we aren’t regulating the waste more? I always love reading your blogs! I really don’t know a great deal about fracking, at all actually, and you always teach me something new! Keep it coming.
The ability of the oil industry to get away with murder (quite literally) is never surprising and always depressing. Do you remember leaded oil, or the fact that americans still have more lead toxins in their bodies than any other population in the world. Yeah, this seems pretty similar, except now its even more obvious. I mean, seriously? “what do we do with the toxic water? I don’t know, lets shoot it back into the ground until it stays there” Stellar logic. Really impressive. The fact that it causes earthquakes and WE ARE STILL DOING IT is pathetic. Not only is fracking awful for the enviornment and our bodies, it causes freaking earthquakes. Wooooww. If this is the state of things, if people are so blatantly willing to go so far, how do we stop it? If imminent doom isn’t enough to convince people to stop fracking, what is? What do you think? Is there a solution?