Understanding the environmental impact of using oil and gas wastewater as a road treatment may lead to safer water resources and stricter government regulations, according to Penn State researchers.
William Burgos, professor of environmental engineering, and Lara Fowler, senior lecturer at Penn State Law and assistant director of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment, will study this impact through research funded by the United States Geological Society.
“In the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, gravel road aggregate has a lot of clay and when you drive over it, it tends to kick up a lot of dust, so they need to use dust suppressants,” Burgos said. “It just so happens that the northwestern portion of the state also has had a lot of oil and gas activity.”
Understanding the environmental impact of using oil and gas wastewater as a road treatment may lead to safer water resources and stricter government regulations, according to Penn State researchers.
William Burgos, professor of environmental engineering, and Lara Fowler, senior lecturer at Penn State Law and assistant director of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment, will study this impact through research funded by the United States Geological Society.
“In the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, gravel road aggregate has a lot of clay and when you drive over it, it tends to kick up a lot of dust, so they need to use dust suppressants,” Burgos said. “It just so happens that the northwestern portion of the state also has had a lot of oil and gas activity.”
The expansion of natural gas production in Pennsylvania has led to the increased production of oil and gas wastewater. One legally permissible disposal option is to use the wastewater as deicing agents and dust suppressants on local dirt and gravel roadways. Partnerships between oil and gas companies and Pennsylvania townships provide a cost-effective way to meet both the disposal needs of the companies and the road treatment needs of the townships. The problem, however, is that there is growing concern about the migration of the contaminants within the wastewater once they leave the roadway.
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Image Credit: Penn State iGEM 2008 via Wikimedia Commons
