Cuadrilla plan to inject the equivalent of nearly 80,000 bottles of Bonnymans Patio Cleaner underneath Balcombe village
A recent presentation by the owner of UK fracker Cuadrilla reveals the company plans to inject tens of thousands of gallons of Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) into its frack sites in the UK.
The presentation – by AJ Lucas, 42% owner of Cuadrilla – reveal that Balcombe can expect sixteen thousand gallons of HCl to be pumped 800m under the village. Hydrochloric acid is typically used neat – its main function is to clean the tiny spaces between subsurface rocks at the start of the fracking process.
The presentation shows that of the fluids Cuadrilla intend to inject underground, 0.125% will be HCl (see p 21 of the presentation). A typical well uses 12.8 million gallons of fluids (based on 1.6 million gallons per frack and 8 fracks per site). For Balcombe this would mean a total of 16,000 gallons of pure hydrochloric acid forced into the ground.
The company likes to maintain that the fracking fluids it uses are found in everyday products.
What this obscures is the sheer quantity of chemicals used, usually without dilution.
Hydrochloric acid is indeed used in some household cleaning products. Yet a small city would be required to consume the same amount used by one frack site. The amount of HCl planned for release under Balcombe, for example, would top 80,000 bottles of Bonnyman’s Patio Cleaner (based on 5 litres per bottle, composed of 28% HCl, total 16,000 gallons).
Similarly the company plans to use a second chemical: polyacrylamide. Polyacrylamide is found in – amongst other things – shampoo. Yet even if polyacrylamide were the only constituent in shampoo, this would also equate to 80,000 bottles of shampoo under the village (8000 gallons of polyacrylamide, ten bottles of shampoo per gallon).
While this cornucopia of subsurface consumer goods provides an almost comical example of the process of hydraulic fracturing, the reality is more stark. The water usage planned for Balcombe equates to more than 12m gallons – or more than 24 Olympic swimming pools. At a time of water shortage both the pollution of underground sources and the asset stripping of surface water is highly irresponsible.
Will Cottrell
What is also worrying about ‘additives’, as the EA carefully words it, the government requests that as much as possible is recycled. A waste-water treatment plan does not exist.
Hi Spidergran,
There are specialist waste water reprocessing companies that will be used to clean the water recovered.
With all respect, Correctoman, you make it sound AS IF there is a plan in place The Commons report makes it clear that such a solution is as yet mooted and MPs hope something suitable WILL BE devised. The drillers’ profit motive ensures that waste-water treatment will aim at the lowest possible standard, usually associated with lowest possible costs. For at the root of the issue is MONEY; everyone involved in the industry wins a pound of flesh: the government, supportive MPs and their footsoldiers in the EA, drillers and their shareholders. Every resident having fracking forced on them loses three times over: once for the threat to their particular environment, once for the cumulative threat of 100s of wells up and down the country, and once for being utterly let down by a government that cares not a jot about a greener future or the safety of citizens. Please correct your own vision.
Reblogged this on patricktsudlow and commented:
With all the evidence from the USA and Australia, you would of thought our politicians would have banned this nonsense. But no, they believe this will be the answer to or energy insecurity, business as usual. This will result in a massive environmental catastrophe which will not be possible to remedy.
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