Vidic 2:00
L15
FRACKING’S POTENTIAL IN THE RIGHT HAND’S
Thomas Cline (tdc15@pitt.edu)
A TOPIC THAT MATTERS
ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
There are very few issues that invoke serious debate
amongst economists, politicians and environmentalists.
Fracking is one of them. Successful exploitation of Fracking
could have a tremendous positive economic impact while
unsuccessful use of Fracking could result in harm to both the
environment and the people that utilize its resources. This is
pretty much the definition of ethics. We must keep in mind
our responsibilities to the people we are affecting while
making the right final decision. It is important to know and
follow the code of ethics as they can help keep people safe
and progress the engineering profession. There is a fine line
between the worthiness of natural gas production and the
risk of potential environmental destruction. If we are more
careful with our practices and continue to develop safe and
cost effective ways to Fracture the wells then Fracking can
provide decades of energy to the world as I will talk about in
a later section.
What is Fracking?
The United States has discovered an incredible amount of
natural gas across the country in recent years. We are finding
hard to access oil reserves at an extremely high rate in the
21st century. Fracking is allowing us to access these wells.
Fracking is the procedure of creating fractures in rocks and
rock formations by injecting fluid into cracks to force them
further open. The larger openings allow more oil and gas to
flow out of the formation and into the wellbore[2]. While
this new process allows for a utilization of these resources,
there are many complications.
Fracking’s Possible Impact
As late as 2007, studies stated that the domestic gas
supply was dwindling and that shortages were to occur. It
was a big deal that natural gas was an un-renewable resource
and was eventually going to run out. Through technological
improvements in Fracking and horizontal drilling techniques
this is no longer the case. We have been discovering oil
wells across America along with ways to access them. The
Potential Gas Committee estimates the “future gas supply"
to be upwards of 2,170 trillion cubic feet which would mean
a little less than one hundred years’ worth of natural gas at
America’s current consumption rate[5]. This not only
indicates an increase in the amount of energy resources we
have but also a reduction in the cost of oil/barrel and the
creation of jobs in the oil production industry.
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
October 9, 2012
Environmental risks summon direct conflict with
Engineering Code of Ethics. One code states that “Engineers
shall consider environmental impact and sustainable
development in the performance of their professional
duties”[6] If engineers are to find ways to access energy then
they must do so without harming the environment. This idea
has been contradicted many times. Since the invention of
Fracking, oil wells such as the Marcellus shale in
Pennsylvania and the Barrnet shale in Texas have been
blamed for the contamination of local well water but the
claims have never been backed up. Just recently in
December of last year the Environmental Protection Agency
scientifically linked contamination of 42 private water wells
in Pavilion, Wyoming to Fracking in the area. Finally a
federal investigation has evidence of contamination. “The
presence of synthetic compounds such as glycol ethers …
and the assortment of other organic components is explained
as the result of direct mixing of hydraulic fracturing fluids
with ground water in the Pavillion gas field,”[4] The report
stated. This is not alright. As engineers we cannot let this
happen. If we are to continue Fracking then we must first
make sure the environment is not affected. These dangerous
chemicals could severely injure someone but the federal
government still did not yield Fracking. They believe that if
the industry would be more careful by “Imposing tougher
regulations on how wells are constructed, and increase
inspections and penalties when it’s done badly” then damage
from Fracking would be minimized.[1]
Methane Problems
One of the main environmental effects of Fracking is the
release of methane into the atmosphere. “Methane acts as a
greenhouse gas, trapping heat from the sun within earth's
atmosphere and attacking the ozone. At low latitudes,
methane in the stratosphere breaks down into hydrogen
oxides, which attack ozone"- Discovery Magazine. A study
convened by Duke University scientists says the “impact of
Fracking in Pennsylvania and New York shows water within
1 kilometer of gas wells has methane levels over 17 times
normal” and “a pattern of drinking water contamination so
severe that some faucets can be lit on fire.” This obviously
needs to be controlled. Methane is released into the
atmosphere through the top of the well in the flowback
process and is said to compose of about 6% of all gases in
the flowback process [3]. To prevent these harmful effects
we must require well operators to capture methane that now
Thomas Cline
escapes from the top of the well into the atmosphere. While
it was formerly thought to be no big deal as the quantity of
the gas is so small, we are now realizing that methane
release due to Fracking has consequence, sometimes as
extreme as flammable house water.
ways to safely and effectively dispose of the waters. So far
the most feasible method explored is Mechanical Vapor
Recompression or MVR. MVR Vaporizes flowback water
and condenses it into clean, distilled water. Tom’s team has
borrowed from the food, beverage, and sugar industries in
their use of MVR. Its effectiveness was demonstrated at a
Devon Energy facility recently as a viable method of
demineralizing produced water, cleaning it to the point that
it can be discharged as surface water or to be treated further
at public owned water treatment facilities. “A challenge for
the engineering community, Tom notes, is the development
of an effective hybrid treatment process that leverages the
strengths of these and other treatment processes at an
appropriate scale.” We have to utilize a combination of
tactics such as MVR and electrodialysis (reduces the brine
content in the water) to effectively deal with the waste water
[3].
Above-Ground Chemical Spills
Publically, the contamination of private water sources is
the main issue with Fracking. Now that Fracking has been
explored for a couple of years we have found that it is not
the act of fracturing the shale itself that contaminates water
supplies, rather there are a couple of other parts of the
process that can be dangerous. When the fracturing of the
well has been completed, the water used to break the rock is
sent back to the top of the well for disposal. The main
contamination of water wells come from Above-ground
spills of chemicals used in Fracking. This is due to poor
installation of metal casings and concrete in the top of the
well that are supposed to prevent chemicals sent down the
bore hole that later come back up. To prevent this we simply
must force the drillers to be more careful. This means that
someone needs to supervise the process. Scientific American
Magazine writer Mark Fishcetti believes we should “Impose
tougher regulations on how wells are constructed, and
increase inspections and penalties when it’s done badly, to
prevent leaks.”[1] The reports of contamination are so few
that it leads us to believe that contamination can be easily
prevented if the companies would be careful every time they
Frack.
RESPONSIBILITY TO THOSE AFFECTED
Handling the Flowback Waters
Mechanical engineering code of ethics specifically tells
us to be conscious of my thinking on this issue. This kind of
issue is why the codes were written in the first place. It is the
same ethical thinking that leads to public resentment towards
Fracking: the welfare of others outweighs any material gain
of yourself. Two codes of ethics state “Engineers shall hold
paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the
performance of their professional duties” and “Engineers
shall consider environmental impact and sustainable
development in the performance of their professional duties”
[6] They are saying that safety and welfare of those affected
by our actions and the environment are the first things we
should worry about and I agree. Through the changes I
introduced in this essay, I believe that we can successfully
exploit our natural gas without harming people in the
process. Code of ethics should be the reason that we strive to
improve the practice rather than being the reason that we
stop Fracking altogether. I believe that Fracking is safe
already and it is only going to get safer. There is a
tremendous opportunity to exploit one of our natural
resources and we have to utilize it in a way that is smart and
safe. A couple more codes state “Engineers shall act for each
employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.”[7] and
“[Engineers] using their knowledge and skill for the
enhancement of human welfare” [7] These codes are meant
to guide engineers in progressing their profession. They also
examine what the engineering profession owes to the world
as intelligent trained creators of technology and solvers of
problems. If we are given the job of extracting oil then we
must perform that job to the best of our abilities. While in no
way should this code interfere with the previous ones, it is
still part of who we are as engineers. If there is a task to be
accomplished then we must innovate and accomplish it.
Tom Hayes, an Institute Engineer at the Gas Technology
Institute has been leading the way on this front trying to find
Should We Know the Ethics of the Situation?
Flowback water
These flowback waters cause more problems down the
line as well. After use this chemical laden water must be
either cleaned for Fracking reuse or cleaned so that it can be
released into the environment. The water’s “reuse capacity”
diminishes with each use as the produced water increases in
salinity above an acceptable limit. It is an engineer’s job to
make sure overly salty waters are not used. For this we have
developed a lifecycle simulation tool that tracks the water
and tests its contents in order to be able to identify when
problems will arise. After continuous use there is a crossover
point in which the water must be disposed of. Problems have
arisen when the chemicals are sloppily released into ponds
that then leak and contaminate surrounding bodies of water
or the water is injected into deep underground rock
formations which reportedly caused abnormal seismic
activity and even earthquakes[1,3]. If Fracking is to be
viable then we have to figure the disposal part out.
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Thomas Cline
do. The code of ethics should be taught to engineering
students but not extensively.
Engineering Code of Ethics plays a major role in the area
of Fracking. It is the kind of issue that lies in the gray area
between contradiction of Code of Ethics and following them.
If the codes are completely forgotten then it would mean
complete disaster for millions of people. If engineers did not
care about the environment or others then the situation
would get out of control and we would see many more
people get harmed. The Code of Ethics puts in perspective
the value of other’s wellbeing. If even one person is harmed
then the whole benefit is probably determined to be not
worth it. The issue exemplifies why it is extremely important
to know and more importantly follow the code of ethics.
Which Path Will We Take?
The benefits of Fracking outweigh the risks. This country
and this world are so far into oil addiction that the process
cannot be reversed. The resulting situation is that we must
control the consequences of oil extraction. If the technology
is not good enough to safely extract the oil yet then we must
put off Fracking till it is. We have a great responsibility to
keep people safe but after that is accomplished I believe that
we have an even bigger responsibility to make
advancements in technology that will improve the world. If
we continue along the road of being reckless then we could
have another environmental disaster such as the explosion of
the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico 2010. It
is the same type of recklessness that causes both disasters.
With this boom in the domestic natural gas supply likely to
continue over the next several years, engineers must develop
this resource responsibly, with minimal impact to both
public health and the environment. With a little bit of
carefulness and a lot of ingenuity we can make this work.
Code of Ethics vs. Ethics
The Code of Ethics is a good guideline for an Engineer to
help make decisions and perform his job. This being said
you can still be a great engineer without knowing the Code
of Ethics from start to finish and referencing it every time a
decision is made. In the end there is no difference between
being a man of the code of ethics and a man of ethics. Yes, it
is important for engineers around the world to know these
rules but it is much more important to follow them.
Engineers have always been expected to ethically attack the
technological problems of today; the code of ethics simply
puts this in writing. A conscience and a memory will usually
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Thomas Cline
REFERENCES
[1] Fishcetti, Mark. "Fracking Could Work If Industry
Would Come Clean | Observations, Scientific American
Blog Network." Fracking Could Work If Industry Would
Come Clean | Observations, Scientific American Blog
Network. N.p., 18 Feb. 2012. Web. 08 Oct. 2012.
<http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/02/1
8/fracking-could-work-if-industry-would-come-clean/>.
[2]"Fracking (engineering)." Encyclopedia Britannica
Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1655635/frac
king/301499/Horizontal-drilling>.
[3] Glanville, Paul. "Harvesting Natural Gas: Fracking." ME Today May 2012 Issue. N.p., May 2011. Web. 08 Oct.
2012. <http://www.asme.org/kb/newsletters/me-today/metoday---may-2012-issue/harvesting-natural-gas--fracking>.
[4]Lustgraten, Abrahm, and Nicholas Kusnetz. "Feds Link
Water Contamination To Fracking." ProPublica. N.p., 8
Dec. 2011. Web. 08 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.propublica.org/article/feds-link-watercontamination-to-fracking-for-first-time>.
[5]Nedler, Chris. "Is There Really 100 Years' worth of
Natural Gas beneath the United States?" Slate Magazine.
N.p., 29 Dec. 2011. Web. 08 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/future_te
nse/2011/12/is_there_really_100_years_worth_of_natural_g
as_beneath_the_united_states_.html>.
New References
[7]"The Engineering Code of Ethics." The Engineering Code
of Ethics. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012.
<http://courses.cs.vt.edu/cs3604/lib/WorldCodes/ASCE.html
>.
[8]"NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers." NSPE Code of
Ethics for Engineers. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html>.
[6]"Code of Ethics of Engineers." Engineering Groups. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.asme.org/groups/educationalresources/engineers-solve-problems/code-of-ethics-ofengineers>.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Ms. Beth
Newborg for presenting us with an interesting paper topic
with much freedom and then giving us guidelines and help
to more effectively complete the assignment. It would not
have been possible without her follow up emails and other
advice along the way. Finally I would like to thank the
T.A.’s and writing instructors for being there if I ever
needed help and giving great advice.
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