Page 18 - Shimadzu Journal vol.3 Issue1

Environmental Analysis

2,4,5-TP 0.05
1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene 0.07
1,1,1-Trichloroethane 0.005
Vinyl Chloride 0.002
Xylenes 10
Gross Alpha 15 pCi/L
Gross Beta 4 millirem per year
Radium 226 + Radium 228 5 pCi/L
Uranium 30 ug/L

Table 3 Secondary Drinking Water Contaminants and MCL’s
Contaminant MCL (mg/L)
Aluminum 0.05 – 0.2
Chloride 250
Copper 1
Color 15 CU
Fluoride 2
Foaming Agents (Surfactants) 0.5
Iron 0.3
Manganese 0.05
pH 6.5 – 8.5
Silver 0.1
Sulfate 250
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) 500
Zinc 5

18
The contaminants in bold are those that have been reported in , or are 10. References
likely to occur in water supplies that have been impacted with production
1 http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy/hydraulic-fracturing-water-cycle; accessed May 12, 2014
or back-flow water. Most of the contaminants in the USEPA drinking water
2 Mader, D.; Hydraulic Proppant Fracking and Gravel Packing; Elsevier; 1989
primary and secondary pollutants list are industrial chemicals, such as
3 ; accessed
chlorinated solvents and pesticides that are not very likely to be detected in
May 12, 2014
oil-field water. Contaminants, such as methane or ethylene glycol, are not
4 Simultaneous analysis of anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic surfactants using
on the list and unless specifically tested for will not be reported even if they
ultra-high speed LC-MS/MS; Paper PO-CON1212E;
are present. Also, there are no USEPA approved methods for parameters
5 Rice, E.W., Baird, R.B., Eaton, A.D., and Clesceri, L.S, ;Standard Methods for the
such as methane or ethylene glycol. Water systems (and laboratories) must
Examination of Water and Wastewater 22nd Edition, APHA, AWWA, WEF; 2012
use EPA approved methods to demonstrate compliance with drinking water
6 http://omrl.eng.ua.edu/Library/Manuscripts/CrosslinkingPapers/SPE90840/SPE9
regulations. Shimadzu Instruments, such as the GCMS-QP2010SE and the
0840-3.pdf; accessed May 12, 2014
ICPE-9000 are fully capable of analyzing fracking water impacted drinking
7 http://www.halliburton.com/public/cem/contents/Chem_Compliance/web/H02
water supplies for volatile organics by EPA Methods 524.2, 524.3, and
686.pdf; accessed May 12, 2014
524.4, and for trace metals by EPA 200.7 and 200.5.
8 http://water.epa.gov/scitech/methods/cwa/bioindicators/upload/2007_07_10_
methods_method_200_7.pdf
9. Conclusion
9 http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/44660.pdf, accessed May 12, 2014
Shale gas deposits are deep below the earth’s surface and recovery of gas is 10 http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/12_Hayes_-_Marcellus_
expensive and requires millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals, Flowback_Reuse_508.pdf
known as “fracking solution”. Most fracking solution stays underground or 11 Impacts of Shale Gas Wastewater Disposal on Water Quality in Western
returns to the surface mixed with formation water, also known as Pennsylvania; Environ. Sci. Technol., 2013, 47 (20), pp 11849–11857
production water. The shale gas recovery operation risks environmental 12 http://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/thegreengrok/frackingwater/ accessed May 13, 2014
contamination of drinking water and surface water as a result of poorly 13 http://www.wef.org/uploadedFiles/Access_Water_Knowledge/Wastewater_Tre
lined waste ponds, poorly designed wells, or chemical spills. Since the atment/Fracking%20Factsheet%20Final(1).pdf accesses May 13, 2014
fracking and production water solutions are very high in Total Dissolved 14 http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/hf-report20121214.pdf
Solids and chloride ion, contamination of wells can be rapidly and easily accessed May 13, 2014
detected. Analysis of the fracking water itself is possible with highly 15 http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/12_Hayes_-_Marcellus_F
sophisticated instruments, such as those available from Shimadzu. lowback_Reuse_508.pdf
Currently approved drinking water methods are sufficient to monitor 16 http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/testmethods/sw846/pdfs/8015c.pdf;
drinking water and source water supplies. One of the problems may be that accessed May 13, 2014
drinking water target organic analytes are mostly chlorinated solvents and 17 http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/ accessed May 18, 2014
pesticides. These compounds are not used in fracking solutions. Methods 18 http://www.uta.edu/news/releases/2013/07/Schug-water-well-contaminant
for the analysis of methane, alcohols, and glycols should be developed. s-study.php, accessed May 18, 2014

18