posted on 2015-07-07, 00:00authored byZacariah L. Hildenbrand, Doug D. Carlton, Brian
E. Fontenot, Jesse M. Meik, Jayme L. Walton, Josh T. Taylor, Jonathan B. Thacker, Stephanie Korlie, C. Phillip Shelor, Drew Henderson, Akinde F. Kadjo, Corey E. Roelke, Paul
F. Hudak, Taylour Burton, Hanadi S. Rifai, Kevin A. Schug
The exploration of unconventional
shale energy reserves and the
extensive use of hydraulic fracturing during well stimulation have
raised concerns about the potential effects of unconventional oil
and gas extraction (UOG) on the environment. Most accounts of groundwater
contamination have focused primarily on the compositional analysis
of dissolved gases to address whether UOG activities have had deleterious
effects on overlying aquifers. Here, we present an analysis of 550
groundwater samples collected from private and public supply water
wells drawing from aquifers overlying the Barnett shale formation
of Texas. We detected multiple volatile organic carbon compounds throughout
the region, including various alcohols, the BTEX family of compounds,
and several chlorinated compounds. These data do not necessarily identify
UOG activities as the source of contamination; however, they do provide
a strong impetus for further monitoring and analysis of groundwater
quality in this region as many of the compounds we detected are known
to be associated with UOG techniques.