Wastewater Disposal from Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Degrades Stream Quality at a West Virginia Injection Facility
Wastewater Disposal from Unconventional Oil and Gas Development Degrades Stream Quality at a West Virginia Injection Facility
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DOI：
10.1021/acs.est.6b00428
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发表时间：
2016-06-07
影响因子：
11.4
通讯作者：
Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Akob, Denise M.;Mumford, Adam C.;Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.
近年来非常规油气资源开发快速增长；然而，人们对环境影响和风险知之甚少。一口井可产生数百万升废水，是地层盐水和注入的水力压裂液的混合物。最常见的废水处理方法之一是地下注入；我们正在西弗吉尼亚州的一个注射处理设施中通过深入的跨学科研究来评估这种方法的潜在风险。 2014 年 6 月，与上游背景水（电导率，74 mu S/cm）相比，从该地点下游收集的水的电导率（416 mu S/cm）和 Na、Cl、Ba、Br、Sr 和 Li 浓度较高。 TDS 升高（UOG 废水的标志）提供了对河流影响的早期指示。废水输入也可通过处置设施附近河水中 Sr-87/Sr-86 的变化来体现。相对于上游沉积物，该设施下游的沉积物富含 Ra，且生物可利用的 Fe(III) 浓度较高。下游沉积物中的微生物群落多样性较低且组成发生变化。尽管无法评估水文路径，但这些数据提供的证据表明，处置设施的活动正在影响附近的溪流并改变附近生态系统的生物地球化学。
The development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resources has rapidly increased in recent years; however, the environmental impacts and risks are poorly understood. A single well can generate millions of liters of wastewater, representing a mixture of formation brine and injected hydraulic fracturing fluids. One of the most common methods for wastewater disposal is underground injection; we are assessing potential risks of this method through an intensive, interdisciplinary study at an injection disposal facility in West Virginia. In June 2014, waters collected downstream from the site had elevated specific conductance (416 mu S/cm) and Na, Cl, Ba, Br, Sr, and Li concentrations, compared to upstream, background waters (conductivity, 74 mu S/cm). Elevated TDS, a marker of UOG wastewater, provided an early indication of impacts in the stream. Wastewater inputs are also evident by changes in Sr-87/Sr-86 in streamwater adjacent to the disposal facility. Sediments downstream from the facility were enriched in Ra and had high bioavailable Fe(III) concentrations relative to upstream sediments. Microbial communities in downstream sediments had lower diversity and shifts in composition. Although the hydrologic pathways were not able to be assessed, these data provide evidence demonstrating that activities at the disposal facility are impacting a nearby stream and altering the biogeochemistry of nearby ecosystems.