EthicsandImpactsofHydraulicFracking

GeraldAguilar
CE106Fall2014

Introduction
Inrecentyears,theprocessofhydraulicfrackinghasbecomeoneofthemostcontroversial
issuesofnotonlysustainabilitybutalsoengineeringethics.Despitetherecentattention
hydraulicfrackinghasbeenreceivingintherecentyears,itisnotanewmethodandhasbeenin
practicesincethe1940s(Ellis,2012).Themodernconcern,environmentallyandethically,is
thecombinationofbothhydraulicfracturingandhorizontaldrilling.Thewellheadisdrivenina
verticaldirection,andisthenchanged,diverginginahorizontaldirection,allowingthedrillto
reachthelayersrichwithorganics(Ellis,2012).Thismethodofextractingnaturalgashasbeen
linkedtomanyadverseaffectsonthetheenvironment.Themostprevalentofthese
consequencesarethecontaminationofthegroundwaterandairalongwithincreasedseismic
activity.Thisdilemmapresentsanethicalproblemintheenvironmentalengineeringdiscipline
theinherentsustainabilityandsafetyoffrackinginadditiontothebreakingoftheASCEcodeof
ethics.Thisessaywillcoverthebasicmechanicsofhydraulicfracking,theconsequencesof
frackingontheenvironmentandadiscussionofethicsusingtheASCEfundamentalcanonsasa
base.

HowHydraulicFrackingWorks
Theprocessofhydraulicfrackingistheutilizationofwaterandothermaterials[which]are
injectedintoageologicformationatahighpressure(Atkins,2013).Thisprocessprovidesa
mediumtotraverseasubterraneanformationbyawell(Granberg,2014).Atthispointwater,
sandandotherchemicals/additivesarepumpedintothewellatextremelyhighpressureswhich
asaresultwillcreatecracksintherock(Ong,2014).Ingeneral,therocktargetedbyfrackingis
asedimentaryrockwithfinegrainedsedimentaryrockknownasshale(Ong,2014).Thecracks
createdintheshaleareknownasfissuresitisfromthesefissuresthatthegasoroiltrapped
withintheshaleisabletobeextracted.Howeverinordertokeepthecracksopenlongenoughto
extractthegasandoil,sandisutilizedtokeepthefissuresfromsealingandrecapturinganygas
oroil(Ong,2014).Figure1depictsthefissuresoncethewaterandchemicalmixturehascreated
thecracksintheshaleandillustrateshowthesandisabletokeepthecracksfromresealing.

Figure1:Anillustrationofthefrackingprocessafterthe
waterhasbeenpumpedandthecrackshavebeenformed.In
additiontheillustrationdepictstheroleofthesandasit
preventsthefissuresfromsealing,trappingthegasandoil
(Granberg,2014).

ConsequencesofHydraulicFracking
Frackingandtheconsequencesithasbecomeassociatedwith,ingeneral,tendtotakeona
negativeconnotation.Frackinghaspositivestoaddsuchasthecostefficiencyinreducingthe
powercostsinindustrialproductioninadditiontothecreationofjobs,andbooststolocal
economies(Ong,2014).Howeverthebenefitswhichcanbeattributedtofrackingallhavea
monetarybasisnophysicalbenefitstotheearthorpeoplecanbeconnectedtofracking.
Moreconsequencesthanbenefits,atleastatthemoment,existofthemanyconsequences,water
andaircontaminationalongwiththepotentialformorefrequentearthquakesaregoingtobe
addressed.

WaterContamination
Watercontamination,ofalloftheadverseeffectsofhydraulicfracking,isthemostwidely
knowntothepublicduetothemediacoveragewhichdamagessuchasgroundwater
contaminationhavereceived.Intermsoffindingexactlywhereduringthefrackingprocessthe
potentialforcontaminationarisesthereisnone.Notasinglestepofthefrackingprocesscanbe
singledoutastheprimarysourceofwatercontamination.Rathertheintegrityofthewatercanbe
compromisedatvariousstagesthroughoutthefrackingprocess(Ong,2014).Thecontamination
ofthewatercanbelinkedtothefluidspumpedintothegroundduringtheprocess.Themixture
oftheliquidconsistsof:90%water,9%sandandothermaterials,and1%additives,which
includelubricants,biocides,rustinhibitors,andsolvents(Ong,2014).Duetoregulationsinthe
UnitedStates,companiesinvolvedinfrackingarenotrequiredtodisclosetheexactcontentsof
liquidusedbecauseitisconsideredatradesecretandthusprotectedunderU.S.law.Asaresult
ofthisjurisdictionavarietyofacidsandalcohols,and/orcompoundscontainingbenzene[or]
ammoniacanbeusedfreely,inwhateverconcentrationthecompanydecides(Ong,2014).The
unknownchemicalcontentandconcentrationisamplifiedbythesheeramountofwaterused
duringtheprocedure,whichaveragesanywherefromfourtosevenmilliongallons(Ong,2014).
Thisimmensevolumeofwatermeanstheamountsofadditiveswhicharepresentduringare
increasedrelativetotheamountofwaterusedthroughouttheprocessonepercentcouldequal
fortythousandgallonsofadditivespresent(Ong,2014).Thehighamountofchemicalspresent
atfrackingsitesraisesconcernforenvironmentalengineerswhospecializeinwaterquality.Due
tothechemicalspresentinfracking,thereisthepotentialforinjurioussideeffects,butitis
difficulttolinkanyillnessaffectinghumansandanimalstothedrillsitesbecausecompaniesdo
nothavetodisclosethecontentsofthefrackingfluid.Despitethissetback,trendsinrelationto
frackinghavebeenobserved.Researchhasshownwellsholdingdrinkingwaternearfracking
siteshavemethanelevelsseventeentimeshigherthantheaveragewell.Inaddition,
concentrationsofethaneandpropaneindrinkingwaterwithsiteslessthanamileawayfrom
frackingsiteswerefoundtobehighthanaverage(Ong,2014).Yetgroundwatercontaminationis
notlimitedtoleakageundergroundcontaminationcananddoesoccuronthesurface.This
occurswhenfluidfromfrackingflowsbackuptothesurfacewhichinsomecaseshasbeen

linkedtolevelsofdeepearthcompoundssuchasradiumandradontobedetectedinabove
averagenumbersintheairsurroundingfrackingsites.

AirContamination
Theamountofpollutionduringfrackingdependsonwhichphasetheprojectisat(Smith,2012).
Fracking,justlikeanylargescaleindustrialendeavor,requiresheavymachineryallofwhich
haveanimpactontheair.Duringtheprephaseoftheproject,airpollutioniscreatedbydrilling
rigs,fracturingengines,anddeliverytruckswhichallutilizedieselorgasoline(Smith,2012).
Thepreproductionphaseisfollowedbytheproductionofnaturalgas.Duringthisphase,itis
commonforthefluidsusedforfrackingtobebroughtbackuptothesurface.Onceatthe
surface,theliquidmayincludeamixtureofnaturalgas,othergases,andhydrocarbonliquids
whicharethenbereleasedintotheair.Figure2listsallofpredominantemissionswhichcanbe
releasedduringtheentirehydraulicfrackingoperation.

Figure2:Thistableliststhemajoremissionsreleasedduringthehydraulicfracking
process.(Smith,2012).

SeismicActivity
Increasedseismicactivityisanoftenunderstatedconsequenceofhydraulicfracking.Todate
therehavebeencasesinTexas,ArkansasandOhio,butstudieshaveyettodirectlytie
earthquakestodrilling(Smith,2012).Themostprobablecausefortheseismicactivityappearsto
beimproperdisposalofthewastewaterduringshalegasproduction(Smith,2012).Thereare
twowaysforseismicactivitytobegenerated.Thefirstisthroughthepumpingofwaterandsand
intotheshalethepotentialseismicactivitythathydraulicfrackinggeneratesisdirectly
proportionaltothelengthsofthecracksorfissurescreatedduringtheprocessthusforlarger
projectsthepotentialforaseismicoccurrenceincreases(Smith,2012).Thesecondpotential
causeforearthquakesisthesubsurfacedisposalofnaturallyoccurringbrinesandwastewater
afterawellhasbeenfracked.Thepotentialfordamageincreasesasthewellsdrilledgetdeeper
anddeeper.Thesedeepwells,knownasClassIIdeepinjectionwells,caninduceearthquakes
whichcanbefeltatthesurface,whichwouldnotoccuronsmallerprojects(Smith,2012).
Howeverwiththatsaidtheseinducedearthquakescanbeavoidedwithpropersitemanagement
(Smith,2012).

Ethics
HydraulicFrackinginrecentyearshascomeunderscrutinybecauseitpresentsaverytough
ethicaldilemma.ThefirstcanonoftheASCEcodeofethicsstates:Engineersshallhold
paramountthesafety,healthandwelfareofthepublicandshallstrivetocomplywiththe
principlesofsustainabledevelopmentintheperformanceoftheirprofessionalduties(ASCE,
2006).Initially,whenapplyingthiscanontofrackingandtheknownconsequencesitis
associatedwith,onemayconcludethepracticeasawholeshouldbeterminated.Howeverthe
canonhighlightsvariousareasofofwellbeing:safety,health,andwelfare.HydraulicFracking
undertheseconstraintsactuallyexhibitspositivesandnegatives.Startingwithsafetyandhealth,
hydraulicfrackingisinblatantviolationofthefirstcanon.Consequencessuchasgroundwater
pollution,airpollutionandincreasedseismicactivityallindicatethatthepracticeoffrackingis
undoubtedlyunethicalbecauseithasthepotentialtoharmsociety.Movingon,welfarecanbe
interpretedinvariouslights.Thefirstinterpretationcanberelatedbacktosafetyandhealththe
practicebynomeansisimprovingthewelfareofthepeopleinaphysicalsense.Acontrasting
pointofviewonthewordwelfareistointerpretthewordinaneconomicornonphysical
sense.Frackinghasthepotentialforagreatincreaseinenergyproductioncostefficiency.Poland
forinstanceisaoneoftheworldsbiggestsupportersoffracking.ThePolish,situatedunderan
extremelylargeshalereserve,haveusedfrackingtoboostthenation'seconomy(Atkins,2013).
Thereisanargumentforbothsidesbutitistoughtosaywhichoneisrightandwhichoneis
wrong.


Conclusion
AddressingHydraulicFrackingisnotassimpleasdecidingwhethertomakeitaviablepractice
ornot.Itisalwaysgoingtobeinuseaslongastheworldneedsenergyandneedsamore
efficienteconomicmeansofproducingit.Thechallengethatengineersfaceishowtoeffectively
managefracking.Environmentalengineerswillhavetoconductresearchtofindoutwhich
chemicalsareseepingintogroundwaterandgeotechnicaltechnicalengineerswillhavetostudy
shaleanditspropertiesunderthestressfrackingpresentsinordertoprovideguidelinesand
regulationinanefforttoreducehumaninducedearthquakes.Engineeringisabouttheabilityto
adapttothechangingworldtoensurethesafetyofthemassesandthelongevityoftheplanet.

References

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