Gas and Oil Wells

Oil wells cover the hills as far as the eye can see in many areas around the country. All day and all night, the pump goes up and down, bringing the oil and gas up to the surface. It was the dream of thousands of people to get rich drilling for oil or even having an oil company place wells on their property to send them a royalty check every month. Texas and Oklahoma have the reputation of being vast oil areas with thousands of oil wells pumping up that black crude oil. That may be our image of this, but almost all of the states do have a number of oil and gas wells. With the explosion in fracking for gas and oil the past decade, wells are now found many places they had never been before. Oil and gas wells are miniature industrial facilities like a small factory whose purpose is to produce oil and gas. They produce a product and along with that production, produce wastes and other by-products. In the case of oil and gas wells, many of the same emissions and pollutants found in factories exist here as well. Oil and gas wells release pollutants—including particulate matter, benzene, nitrogen oxides, ozone, volatile organic carbons, and carbon monoxide—into nearby air and water and have been linked to a host of health problems in people living nearby.

 

Studies and research coming out in the past decade show an association correlating the distance people live from oil and gas wells and certain health effects from the pollutants these wells give off. The oil and gas industry have dismissed the facts found in these studies and said there is no health risk, but more studies are coming out confirming that people living within a certain distance from oil and gas wells suffer adverse health effects. 

 

In response, states are enacting new rules governing where drilling of any additional wells can take place. The distance that new wells are allowed to be from buildings and homes varies but are at least a good starting point. Many of these laws neglect to consider the concentration of pollution when multiple wells are placed onto the same drilling pad. In some cases, more than a half dozen wells occupy the same small area, making the potential for hazardous air pollutants many times higher than a single well. Additionally, the cumulative effects of multiple wells is ignored by environmental agencies responsible for monitoring emissions. 

 

According to Environmental Health News, 17 million people live within a mile of an active oil or gas well. In fact, half a million or more people live near multiple wells in many high-producing areas. The closer people live to the well, the higher the negative health effects are. 

 

In another devious loophole, the weaker regulations in the past apply to older, conventional wells that still fall under old regulations that allow them to emit far more pollution than even thought when the original rules were written. Pennsylvania has some outdated regulations controlling conventionally drilled wells. The operators use those regulations to their advantage to keep their conventional wells in an active status even though they no longer produce any product. Active wells covered under this old regulation have no pollution limits regulating how much they can vent. If a well switched status to inactive, it would be capped at 5,000 cubic feet of pollution gas per day. The way the regulation is worded, then, the operators have a choice to stay active and keep polluting in unlimited quantities. 

 

1. Particulate Matter

 

There is no shortage of dust and particles from activity around the wells in addition to some of the smaller particulates emitted from the wells themselves. Fine particles clinging to the dust kicked up around the site contain many of the harmful chemicals emitted from the well such as benzene and hydrogen sulfide. Many, due to their size, are not screened out when inhaled, but the fine particles get deep into our lungs and attach to air sacs. Once in the body, they attack organs and deposit poisons in body tissues. 

 

2. Emissions

 

The older a well is, the greater its likelihood that it will leak methane and other air pollutants into the atmosphere. Many of the operating wells date back over a decade; some date back even longer. While there has been improvement in some pollution control equipment on new wells, that does nothing for older ones. In fact, many of the older ones account for the majority of the emissions, and, as stated, they are not required to be retrofitted to reduce pollution even though they can be. 

 

One study that collected measurements of benzene found concentrations of the cancer-causing gas up to 41 times higher than allowed within 500 feet of the well. The further away from the well, the lower the concentration of gas. 

 

In the town of Pavilion, Wyoming, people living near these oil and gas wells were tested for chemicals. The scientists found eight of the chemicals found in the air near the oil and gas wells were also present in the bodies of the people tested, all VOCs not normally found in a human. These VOCs have short-term and long-term health consequences. These consequences varied from irritations to the eyes, nose, and throat, to headaches and lowered cognitive functions, to damage to the nervous system, kidneys, and liver. Several of the VOCs are considered to be cancer causing.   

 

Researchers backed by the University of California conducted a study to see if there was a correlation between a trend they were noticing in infants being born smaller in areas where high concentrations of oil field chemical emissions were present. The resulting studies confirmed a link between low birth weight babies in the San Joaquin Valley, California and nearby gas and oil fields. Additional studies done in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Texas are also beginning to offer indisputable evidence of the effect of these chemicals on the infants. 

 

3. Leaks and Spills

 

A report from American GeoSciences says there are about 55 spills for every 1,000 wells. The spills came from storage tanks, storage pits, and pipes near the wells and the drilling rigs. In the four states where data was compiled, the overall average spill was over 600 gallons. requirements based on the volume, type of material, location, and spread of the spill. The storage pits near these wells have a record of leaking hazardous substances, which is well documented. The organization Environment  New Mexico Research and Policy Center totaled over 400 instances of water contamination caused by these waste pits used by gas and oil well operators. 

 

Gas, oil, and condensation in the well is collected in tanks sitting near the well. Many of these tanks leak into the air or onto the ground. Some of the chemicals in the condensate are benzene and toluene, both of which are very harmful and known to cause cancer. 

 

People living near properties with wells have been reporting a much higher frequency of headaches. Some of them are so severe as to be debilitating. The older the well is, the more likely it is to leak. As the seals and parts on the well pumps age and wear from use, they increase the amount of toxins that are able to escape into the air. People who have been living near these wells and already exposed long-term are now being exposed to even more hazardous emissions. Children living in these areas experience frequent nosebleeds, nausea, and also loss of coordination. In Karnes County, Texas, many residents are suffering with these and other strange symptoms they say came along with the rapid increase in oil and gas production. They are not alone. Communities from California to Pennsylvania all have similar stories about the health effects from living close to these oil and gas fields. 

 

4. Burning Off Gas

 

Many oil wells bring up large amounts of natural gas along with the oil. Depending on factors such as the operator’s ability to capture the natural gas for use and the gas’s profitability, the gas may be allowed to vent off or burn off at the site. 

 

In the state of Texas, a new well is allowed to burn, or flare, as much natural gas as they want to. While a permit is needed after the initial ten day period, almost 7,000 of these permits were issued in 2019. Because of the expense the well operator would need to spend in order to collect the gas and move it through a pipeline to the processing facility, they simply are choosing to shoot it into the air. 

 

The burning of the gas emits huge amounts of methane and carbon dioxide in addition to other pollutants. When there are many wells in a small area, the amount of methane and other pollutants is very large. Besides the noise and odor from flaring the gas, there are health issues related to the fumes it gives off. The Natural Institute of Health notes these releases cause headaches, dizziness, vomiting, and lack of coordination. There are other chemicals burned off as well such as volatile organic compounds which are known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular health issues. 

 

In Karnes County, Texas, people are sick from all the health issues they have from all the flaming gas wells and emissions. The constant exposure has given many residents sore throats, headaches, and respiratory tract irritation. The area has so many flaring gas wells that one man sarcastically refers to it as Flare City, USA. 

 

5. Orphan Wells

 

This word choice is an interesting term for a really big issue. There is a significant problem with old oil and gas wells that have simply been abandoned by their owners. The majority of these stopped producing enough to make them profitable, so the operators moved elsewhere. Drilling has been going on for well over 100 years, and according to the figures the EPA compiled, there are between 2.3 to as many as 3 million abandoned wells across the country. Sometimes they pop up in the most unlikely places, but back when the wells were active, these areas were still undeveloped. 

 

Each abandoned well is a risk, although the danger depends on age, decay and proximity to people. They can channel gas and oil to the surface, pollute streams and drinking water, create explosion hazards when gas seeps into homes and emit climate-changing gases.

 

In many states, the current 2020 drop in oil and gas prices is causing many wells to be abandoned. In Pennsylvania, the state already has 200,000 abandoned wells from the last century. Past laws never required capping or sealing these wells, so many are simply exposed and still venting gases. Each individual well presents a risk for gas and oil to pollute the surface water and aquifers and create explosion hazards from released gas building up underground or seeping into nearby buildings and exploding. 

 

In Los Angeles, California, in the Vista Hermosillo neighborhood, an overwhelming stench had been driving some of the residents crazy. Unable to locate the source and lacking much help from the city, one man decided to use a jackhammer to see what was under the ground causing the odors. He discovered an abandoned oil well that had never been properly capped was leaking potentially toxic gases. The area and the corresponding four mile stretch between downtown and Hollywood was an old old field known as the Los Angeles Oil Field. According to 2018 records stored by a division of the Department of Conservation, there are 854 orphan wells from the early 20th Century in this area. About 19 wells are located in the neighborhood where they were first uncovered. Explosive and potentially toxic fumes have been coming from these wells. Some of the leaked toxins are linked to respiratory issues and even cancer. The city knew about the 854 wells while all of these residents breathed in these fumes and waited to get sick.

 

Also in Los Angeles, there are 18 wells sitting unused and unplugged. City inspectors found one of them was leaking hazardous emissions into the neighborhood for two weeks. One family who lives in an apartment complex close to the wells said the family has frequent nosebleeds and headaches in addition to nausea caused by the leaking gas fumes. Over 800 people live within 600 feet of these abandoned open wells and experience the health effect of exposure to the fumes on a daily basis.

 

6. Transmission Compressors

 

Depending on what the well is producing–oil, gas, or both–small compressors are needed to compress the gas at the site and push both gas and oil into the transmission pipelines. Usually, these compressors are powered with diesel generators. The burning diesel emits particulate matter that is a known carcinogen. Since these generators need to run almost continuously, they are not only constantly creating noise, they are emitting large amounts of toxic fumes. 

 

Unfortunately, all the gas and oil from these individual wells need to connect someplace and then be moved into the national pipeline system. Their compressor stations are very large, with equally large compressors. The lights will sometimes be on all night, the noise is a perpetual nuisance, and there are continuous emissions of fumes from diesel exhaust.

 

In Dish, Texas, residents who were tired of the noise, odors, chemical exposure, and lights from large compressor stations near them sued the companies running the compressors. They suffered from health effects tied to exposure to the noise, benzene emissions, diesel exhaust, and other chemicals emitted. The residents had respiratory issues from the emissions, nervous system issues from the constant noise and lack of sleep, and other health issues. While they won their lawsuit in a lower court, the Texas Supreme Court overturned their win on a technicality relating to a filing error with their lawsuit. The industry chalked it up as a big win, and the compressor pumps on. 

 

Colorado requires a new oil and gas well to be 500 feet from a residence and 1,000 feet from high occupancy buildings serving more than 50 people like schools and hospitals. However, that may not be enough.

 

The Colorado Department of Health and Environment had a study done to see what some of the health issues may be for people living near oil and gas wells. The study determined there were several short-term effects on people who live closer than 2,000 feet from one of these wells, ranging from headaches and nosebleeds to occasional dizziness.

 

Another study conducted at the medical campus of the University of Colorado showed a correlation between the types of emissions and particulate matter at oil well sites and an increase in cardiovascular issues. The people doing the research looked at over 50 other studies done by well respected people and peer reviewed. The oil and gas industry dismissed the evidence saying the researchers cherry picked the information. 

 

This is unsurprising as decades-old studies on conventional oil and gas wells have been dismissed by the industry, which claims that newer technology is different and safer. However, nothing has changed but the time. 

 

New wells or old, there are multiple issues. Many of the problems that affected people living near the oil and gas wells before the fracking boom are the same. Not much has changed in regulations requiring pollutants to be controlled at the source. The new oil boom is actually creating even more of the same problem with the addition of the millions of gallons of hazardous wastes it produces. 

 

Entire communities who thought the new boom in drilling was going to lead to a town renaissance have been deceived. The only ones benefiting from the oil and gas wells are the operators making the vast majority of any profits. The pollution is so bad now that, in some places, the gas that normally would be captured and sold is being treated as waste, and the property owner who should be collecting a royalty gets nothing but pollution and an unhealthy environment to live in instead. 

 

The old robber barons riding the wave of oil and gas production are laying waste to any place they are allowed to sink their drill into. The promise of money is seducing many people to sell out only to later realize it was a pipe dream.

 

Distances to these oil and gas wells that may be considered safer, but certainly not safe enough, is at least a half mile. If you are able to put a mile between you and the wells and compressors, do so. The noise from all the compressors will be most likely still heard especially in the night, but hopefully the distance will be enough to not be constantly affected.