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. 2 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 3 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. 4