Breaking: Texas Fracking Sites Inject Over 1,000 Pounds of PFAS; Are Forever Chemicals Becoming Permanent?
Recently, the ‘Physicians for social responsibility community presented a report on the concentration of Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in oil and gas wells in Texas, USA.
The miracle chemicals Perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl, first formulated by 3M in the 1930s, have been used consistently. From being a part of the cookware industry to cloth wear, the PFAs have been used for multiple purposes.
When Newly introduced, PFAs were known to be degradable, but research at depth suggests that these chemicals are persistent in the environment and would be a part of our ecosystem not just in our present but forever. Thus, they called ‘forever’ chemicals.
Members of IAFF L2779 were pleased to again meet with @drsdelliscc to discuss this year’s important topics of our nation’s airports safety along with the carcinogenic PFAS chemicals used in the manufacturing of our PPE. pic.twitter.com/HDqqv7uTyG
— IAFF Local 2779 (@IAFF2779) March 28, 2023
Texas left behind all the other states and had the maximum amount of PFA.
The community critically examined the findings and held the state law responsible. They were criticized for giving consent to the energy firms to keep concealed the data on the utilization of chemicals.
The report brought into the limelight the loopholes in state regulations and the standards of disclosure and accountability.
Over the last ten years, oil and gas firms in Texas have relentlessly injected a minimum of 43,000 pounds PFA. This humongous amount was pumped into over 1,000 fracked oil and gas wells across Texas.
One of the report’s authors, Dusty Horwitt, pointed out the difference between the utilization of PFAs in Texas and other states. She said the measure is a lot more compared to other states. The difference could be attributed to a large number of hydraulic fracturing in Texas.
The data used for this analysis was publically available and posted by FracFocus. FracFocus is a national-level inventory that records the chemicals utilized in fracking and includes industrial data. Unfortunately, there has always been some discrepancy in actual utilization and track records of PFAs, chiefly because of the trade secret label.
Trade groups like Texas oil and gas association and the Texas chemistry council kept quiet, being ignorant of the requests seeking their response on the findings of PSR.
The same analysis on the presence of forever chemicals was carried out in Ohio, Colorado, and nationally.
Some states have begun to prohibit PFAs in all possible ways. In the year 2022, the legislative council of colorado passed a law to forbid the use of PFAs in every possible way. The law will be enacted in 2024.
The PFAs have been scrutinized for being toxic, even in microscopic amounts. This is because they accumulate inside the human body and are directly linked to diseases like Cancer, respiratory disorders, and both defects.
