Sludge Watch ==> Calif - LA to inject toxic sludge into deep wells - too risky

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

To Sludgewatch:
From: Helane Shields

I have never been comfortable with the disposal of hazardous wastes in deep 
injection wells.   A cursory review of the literature confirms the wells can 
contaminate  surface and groundwater  and cause earthquakes..  The City of 
Los Angeles is suing a company for pumping pressurized hot water
into an old oil well...an action that they say caused foul smelling sludge 
to bubble up from the deep well onto a downtown street, forcing the 
evacuation of 100 residents.
But now they want to pump sludge into deep wells.   Obviously, something 
went wrong with the deep well injection.    Los Angeles is riven with 
earthquake faults.  The U.S. Geological Service states humans have caused 
earthquakes by the injection of fluids into deep wells for waste disposal.

Helane Shields, Alton, NH . . . sludge researcher since 1996

The US EPA VERY SPECIFICALLY says deep injection of hazardous wastes should 
be in an area " . . . free of vertically transmissive fissures or faults, 
and that the region is characterized by low seismicity and a low probability 
of earthquakes."

To the contrary, Los Angeles is at high risk for earthquakes.

New Earthquake Fault Discovered Under Los Angeles The box at center outlines 
the area of the Los Angeles basin where a new, active earthquake fault has 
been discovered. In 1994, a moderately large temblor ...
www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1999/03.04/earthquake.html - 14k - Cached - 
Similar pages

LiveScience.com - Earth Puts Big Squeeze on Los Angeles Like slow-moving 
bookends, two earthquake faults are squeezing northern metropolitan Los 
Angeles nearly a quarter inch a year, scientists said today. ...
www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/ 050519_la_pressure.html - 68k - Cached - 
Similar pages



Fault Map - Los Angeles Region Faults of Southern California los angeles 
region. This map covers most of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Within 
this map area, most every kind of fault ...
www.data.scec.org/faults/lafault.html - 15k - Cached - Similar pages





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Los Angeles sludge to be pumped into deep underground wells . . . . .


"What is Bioslurry? It is actually a shorthand term:  It is actually a
shorthand term:Refers to mixing of municipal biosolids into a into a SLURRY
and injecting into a deep sandstone at a pressure sufficient to create
hydraulic fractures.."

"Admin: read on... it gets better.  They think there are unusual life forms
in these underground caverns where their virus laden sludges will go.  And
they think that even though the sandstone vault half a mile under the
coastal sea bed is under so much pressure it will create fissures they
don't figure the sludge or ensuing pressurized gases will bubble up to the
surface."
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deep injection wells can leak:

Surfrider Foundation USA - Palm Beach County Chapter The US Environmental 
Protection Agency is considering allowing continued use of deep injection 
wells that leak into the aquifer in South Florida, ...
www.surfriderpbc.org/July30peter.html - 12k - Cached - Similar pages

EPA Region 5 Water: Annulus Additives in Deep Injection Wells
Use of Annulus Additives to Address Leaks in Deep Injection Wells ... Any 
leak preventative should be allowed if its ability to stop or slow leakage 
and ...
www.epa.gov/r5water/uic/ntwg/issue5.htm - 23k - Cached - Similar pages


Ecology Center Much of the recent debate about injection wells in Romulus 
focuses on the ... Greenpeace has stated that "in at least 2 states,
deep well injection of ...
www.ecocenter.org/199912/romulus.shtml - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

" . . .  22 out of the 172 wells in America have leaked or suffered holes, "

A Greenpeace report entitled "A Shot In The Dark:
Underground Injection Of Hazardous Waste" does
seem to indicate that someone knows where the waste will go.

"There are many other hazards associated with these wells.   According to 
the

Greenpeace report, 22 out of the 172 wells in America have leaked or 
suffered holes,

and workers detected substantial leakage from holes in well casings in six
other situations.   Greenpeace has stated that “in at least 2 states, deep
well injection of hazardous wastes has been linked to multiple earthquakes,
caused by elevated pressure and reduced friction over large areas . . .
Injected wastes have entered groundwater through cracks, fissures,
and abandoned oil and gas wells in the U.S.”
*************************************************************************************
http://interactive2.usgs.gov/faq/list_faq_by_category/get_answer.asp?id=156
USGS Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Can we cause earthquakes? Is there any way to prevent earthquakes?
Answer:

Earthquakes induced by human activity have been documented

in a few locations in the United States, Japan, and Canada.

The cause was injection of fluids into deep wells for waste

disposal and secondary recovery of oil, and the use of reservoirs

for water supplies. Most of these earthquakes were minor.

The largest and most widely known resulted from fluid injection

at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near Denver, Colorado.

In 1967, an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 followed a series of

smaller earthquakes. Injection had been discontinued at the site

in the previous year once the link between the fluid injection

and the earlier series of earthquakes was established.

(Nicholson, Craig and Wesson, R.L., 1990, Earthquake

Hazard Associated with Deep Well Injection--A Report

to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 
1951, 74 p.)


*******************************************************
http://www.gsajournals.org/gsaonline/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1130%2F0091-7613(1999)027%3C0367:PCFAIE%3E2.3.CO%3B2
Possible cause for an improbable earthquake: The 1997 Mw 4.9 southern 
Alabama earthquake and hydrocarbon recovery
Department of Geology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA

ABSTRACT

Circumstantial and physical evidence indicates that the 1997 Mw 4.9

earthquake in southern Alabama may have been related to hydrocarbon

recovery. Epicenters of this earthquake and its aftershocks were located

within a few kilometers of active oil and gas extraction wells and two

pressurized injection wells. Main shock and aftershock focal depths (2–6 km) 
a

re within a few kilometers of the injection and withdrawal depths.

*******************************************************************************************************************


http://geosurvey.state.co.us/pubs/rocktalk/rtv5n2.pdf

electronic pg. 6 of 12:

"EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY HUMANS IN COLORADO "-

"But the most famous incidents were three major examples of earthquakes 
induced

by fluid infection. The first was at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in the 
1960s, the

second in Rangely Oil Field in the 1970s, and the third in the Paradox 
Valley in the 1990s.

The first of these was a surprise, whereas the others were expected."

"In order to alleviate environmental concerns, they decided to inject the 
liquid

into a two-mile deep well. Less than a year after injection began, 
earthquakes began

occurring in the vicinity. Thousands of small earthquakes (in 1967 two 
earthquakes over

magnitude 5.0) were recorded near the Arsenal. The largest caused an 
estimated $1 million

in damage in Commerce City and north Denver."

******************************************************************************************




http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/classonestudy.pdf

The US EPA VERY SPECIFICALLY says deep injection of hazardous wastes should 
be in an area
" . . . free of vertically transmissive fissures or faults, and that the 
region is
characterized by low seismicity and a low probability of earthquakes."

USDW = underground source of drinking water )
electronic  pg 31 of 113 "Class I hazardous wells are located in 
geologically stable areas. The operator of a well must

demonstrate that there are no transmissive fractures or faults in the 
confining rock layers through which i

njected fluids could travel to drinking water sources.

Well operators also must show that there are no wells or other artificial 
pathways between the injection zone and USDWs through

which fluids can travel. EPA regulations prevent Class I hazardous wells 
from being sited in areas where earthquakes could occur

and compromise the ability of the injection zone and confining zone to 
contain injected fluids."

electronic page 37 - "SITING REQUIREMENTS Class I wells must be sited to so 
that  wastewaters re injected into a formation

that is below the lowermost formation containing, within one-quarter mile of 
the well, a USDW [40 CFR 146.12(a); 40 CFR 146:62(a)].

In siting Class I wells, operators must use geologic and hydrogeologic 
studies and studies of artificial penetrations of the injection and

confining zones to demonstrate that their proposed injection will not 
endanger USDWs. In addition, Class I operators seeking to inject

hazardous wastewaters must demonstrate via a no=migration petition that the 
hazardous constituents of wastewaters will not migrate

from the disposal site for as long as the wastewaters remain hazardous.

"Addition siting requirements are imposed on Class I hazardous wells to 
ensure that they are located in geologically stable

(e.g. low risk of earthquakes); formations that are free of natural or 
artificial pathways for fluid movement between the

injection zone and USDWs."



electronic pg. 37 - "For Class I hazardous wells, additional structural 
studies must demonstrate that the injection

and confining formations in the area around the well are free of vertically 
transmissive fissures or faults,

and that the region is characterized by low seismicity and a low probability 
of earthquakes. The operator

must demonstrate that the proposed injection will not induce earthquakes or 
increase the

frequency of naturally occurring earthquakes."




electronic page 66 "Thornton, Joe. A Shot in the Dark: Underground Injection 
of Hazardous Waste.

A Greenpeace Report. July 1990.

"Deep well disposal of hazardous wastes has contaminated groundwater 
resources,

caused earthquakes, damaged geological formations, and contaminated soils 
and

surface water near wellheads. Because of loopholes in federal laws governing 
hazardous waste

disposal, deep well injection if the cheapest and one of the most poorly 
regulated of all disposal methods."