According to an article in The Hill, the organization Physicians for Social Responsibility published a detailed report on the state of PFAS usage in oil and gas drilling operations including fracking. Note that many if not most states allow drillers to claim that the components of their drilling fluids are a trade secret and exempt from public disclosure. The quantities mentioned in the report are astoundingly large in magnitude. They report that “between 2013 and 2022, drilling operations have injected at least 261 New Mexico wells with 9,000 pounds of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for use in fracking,” Further, the article states that “During the same period, oil and gas companies injected more than 8,200 wells with a total of 243 million pounds of fracking chemicals — likely including PFAS — kept undisclosed due to “trade secret shields,” per the report.“

[Note: A reader rightly pointed out that 9000 lbs divided by 261 wells works out to only 34 lbs/well in New Mexico. My thinking was that adding PFAS release to an untenable situation where oil & gas operate under loose environmental constraints already was a step too far. The aforementioned 243 million lbs of fracking chemicals gives no indication of how much, if any, PFAS is included. I understand why additives are blended in with drilling fluids and there are many strong technical and economic reasons for it. There must be boundaries on how much pollution we produce- even with oil & gas production.]

Fracking involves the injection of water, sand and certain chemicals at high pressure to fracture and prop open fissures produced in the formation for increased recovery of oil and gas. This is not a new technique. However, the oil and gas industry has seen to it that they can enjoy trade secrecy and immunity from much regulatory oversight while engaging in their operations. Their injection of chemicals into the ground has been subject to precious little oversight in terms of what and how much they can/should pump into the ground. Underground there is no air oxidation, weathering or photodegradation to break down the substances they pump into the ground. The immediate threat may be nil, but over the upcoming centuries, our descendants may drill into groundwater formations that have been contaminated by earlier petroleum operations. We should tread easily being mindful of our future civilization.

This blatant side-stepping of transparency by oil & gas is made possible through lobbying the local, state and federal government. If they get any push back, they drag out the old saw about jobs, jobs, jobs. No official, elected or appointed, wants to be seen acting against jobs. So, all manner of dubious ideas go forward with the blessing of our officials. We citizens fail to vote in sensible regulation because jobs, jobs, jobs. It doesn’t matter that jobs in oil & gas are famously in the feast or famine category, oil & gas companies always get their way.

Everyday I drive by unmanned oil tank batteries silently doing their automated jobs. The work force is reduced to truck drivers or supervisors visiting only periodically. The roughnecks and the crew who laid the pipes are long gone. At work I frequently train new employees who have left oil & gas because it was too unsteady.

Recently a few states have signed legislation to ban products containing forever chemicals within their state. No mention of well injection chemicals, but at least this is a start.