Caption: Making way for the Marcellus, Credit: Reid R. Frazier/Allegheny Front
Image by: Reid R. Frazier/Allegheny Front 
Making way for the Marcellus 

Drilling salts still turning up in drinking water supplies

From: Reid Frazier
Series: Breaking the Land: Marcellus Shale and the Gas Age
Length: 07:50

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Why are Marcellus shale salts still turning up in drinking water? Is Pennsylvania's voluntary program to limit them keeping drinking water clean? Read the full description.

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Hydraulic fracturing has allowed gas drillers to tap into a rich bed of gas in the Marcellus shale. But some are worried about water pollution. The state asked drillers to keep wastewater from drilling out of rivers and drinking water supplies. It's loaded with a naturally occurring salt called bromide which, in large quantities, threatens drinking water. The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier and Ann Murray found pollutants associated with drilling are still in rivers and drinking water supplies, and looked for reasons why. 

More from Reid Frazier

Caption: Amy Pare, a doctor in Washington County, Pennsylvania, has been trying to get the state to examine possible links between gas development and health problems. , Credit: Reid R. Frazier

PA Denies Doctor's Request to Examine Fracking-Health Link (01:45)
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Concerns about the health effects of hydraulic fracturing prompted a Washington County, PA doctor to ask the state to take a closer look at a group of patients who live near ...
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In a Gas Boom, Looking for Answers on Health Questions (09:50)
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Thousands of wells have been drilled in the Marcellus shale, using new types of drilling methods. But there are questions about the safety of these new methods, like ...
Caption: Marty Whiteman found himself in a struggle with Chesapeake Energy, which leased the gas under his farm. , Credit: Reid R. Frazier

When 'No' is Not an Option: Gas Boom Brings Problems to Surface Owners (07:05)
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What happens when your land sits on top of a rich natural gas deposit, but you don't own the mineral rights. In Wetzel County, West Virginia, many landowners don't own their ...
Caption: Making way for the Marcellus, Credit: Reid R. Frazier/Allegheny Front

Gas Money flowing into Universities (07:06)
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Gas companies spend millions of dollars to fund research at Penn State. Does the money buy anything else?
Caption: Making way for the Marcellus, Credit: Reid R. Frazier/Allegheny Front

Fracking the Forest: Pennsylvania's Woods are Fair Game (07:46)
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How will fracking affect Pennsylvania's most remote forests? Reid Frazier took a trip above the state's biggest forest and saw first hand the imprint the gas industry is ...
Caption: Making way for the Marcellus, Credit: Reid R. Frazier/Allegheny Front

Wells to Wheels: Can shale gas power cars? (06:57)
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We use natural gas to heat our homes and generate our power. Can we use it to fuel our cars? Big Gas thinks shale gas is the key to cleaning up our car-heavy culture. Their ...
Caption: A Chesapeake Energy rig in Carroll County, Ohio, where fracking is taking place in Amish communities. , Credit: Reid R. Frazier

In Amish Country, Fracking Here to Stay (06:37)
From: Reid Frazier

In Ohio, some of the best pockets of oil and gas in the East run right under Amish country. Reid Frazier found the drilling boom is confronting the Amish with a challenge to ...

Piece Description

Hydraulic fracturing has allowed gas drillers to tap into a rich bed of gas in the Marcellus shale. But some are worried about water pollution. The state asked drillers to keep wastewater from drilling out of rivers and drinking water supplies. It's loaded with a naturally occurring salt called bromide which, in large quantities, threatens drinking water. The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier and Ann Murray found pollutants associated with drilling are still in rivers and drinking water supplies, and looked for reasons why.