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The Oil Industry’s Latest Disaster: Trillions of Gallons of Buried Toxic Wastewater
Alberta buries toxic wastewater from fracking underground, primarily by injecting it into deep-disposal wells, which is considered a common method to manage the fluid. While regulations in Western Canada require flowback to be contained in sealed tanks and transported for disposal to these approved, deep-injection wells, concerns exist regarding potential impacts on groundwater.
Industry and regulators knew decades ago that injecting drilling’s toxic liquid leftovers underground wasn’t safe.
Industry and regulators knew decades ago that injecting drilling’s toxic liquid leftovers underground wasn’t safe.
USGS hydrologist Robert Stallman conjectured — with some accuracy, as it has turned out — that the consequences of injecting large amounts of liquid waste underground would include pollution of groundwater and surface water, changes to the permeability of rocks, cave-ins, earthquakes, and contamination of underground oil and gas deposits. |Read more|