Chemical Fluids Leak From Pennsylvania Natural Gas Well

Published January 13, 2015

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- A natural gas well in rural northern Pennsylvania spilled thousands of gallons of chemical-laced water on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of seven families who live nearby as crews struggled to stop the gusher.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. lost control of the Marcellus Shale well site near Canton, in Bradford County, at about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, officials said. Tainted water continued to flow from the site Wednesday afternoon, contaminating a nearby stream.

No injuries were reported, and there was no explosion or fire.

"As a precautionary measure, seven families who live near the location have been temporarily relocated until all agencies involved are confident the situation has been contained. There have been no injuries or natural gas emissions to the atmosphere," Chesapeake spokesman Brian Grove said in a statement.

Chesapeake said a piece of equipment failed late Tuesday while the well was being hydraulically fractured, or fracked. In the fracking process, millions of gallons of water, along with chemical additives and sand, are injected at high pressure down the well bore to break up the shale and release the gas.

State environmental regulators were taking water samples from a tributary of Towanda Creek on Wednesday but did not report a fish kill. Officials advised a neighboring farmer to prevent his cows from drinking surface water.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/chemical-fluids-leak-from-pennsylvania-natural-gas-well