Groundwater Contamination and Health Consequences of Hydraulic Fracturing
With the petroleum industry moving toward consensus that peak oil has passed [1], countries across the globe are starting to look at other sources of fuel to meet the demand for low cost energy. Among these sources is natural gas, occurring within bodies of rock such as shale, tight sands, or coalbeds. As of 2009, natural gas accounts for approximately 25 percent of the total U.S. energy use—out of that 25 percent, shale gas accounts for 14 percent alone [2]. The method of hydraulic fracturing involves extracting natural gas from shale plays; areas of land that contain an economically viable amount of natural gas existing within underground hydrocarbon-bearing formations. Extraction of gas requires drilling wells and pumping pressurized water, proppants, solvents, and other chemicals into the gas-containing formations, forcing the gas to surface.
env_3100_fracking_web.pdf | |
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Process and Methodology of Creating a Glaze from Crystalline Feldspar
ABSTRACT:
This paper covers the manner in which glazes are created—from collecting the specimens in situ, through the process of calcination, ball milling, and testing for color responses and application properties. All feldspar used in this analysis was obtained at the Ray Mica Mine in Burnsville, NC. Testing was performed on Phoenix clay and fired at Cone 10 (Δ10) reduction.
This paper covers the manner in which glazes are created—from collecting the specimens in situ, through the process of calcination, ball milling, and testing for color responses and application properties. All feldspar used in this analysis was obtained at the Ray Mica Mine in Burnsville, NC. Testing was performed on Phoenix clay and fired at Cone 10 (Δ10) reduction.
clay_feldspar_glaze_report.pdf | |
File Size: | 533 kb |
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Ecological health assessment of laurel fork through water conditions, metals analysis, and fish integrity
ABSTRACT:
Streams and rivers serve as important ecosystems supporting a wide array of aquatic organisms and creating niches for plants, trees, and land animals. Disruption of these ecosystems can have a cascading effect, starting at the microbial level. Factors such as turbidity, pH, water conductivity, metals concentration in the water, and sediments can all impact the diversity of fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, and neighboring plant species. This study monitored the health of Laurel Fork running along HWY 105 south from Boone. Methods involved analyzing metal concentrations in sediment and water on an Inductively Coupled Plasma spectrometer, chlorine, nitrate, and phosphate levels measured on an Ion Chromatograph, fish shocked for an Index of Biotic Integrity, water conditions collected off a portable meter, and water tested for Coliform cultures. The fish IBI returned a value of acceptable species diversity, but with a lower than normal abundance value for each species. Metal concentrations in water support this finding with silver concentrations of around 0.3 parts per billion, nearly five times higher than the set NC standard. Such high levels have been shown to impair juvenile trout, and quicken the hatch rate before fry reach the normal stage for hatching.
Streams and rivers serve as important ecosystems supporting a wide array of aquatic organisms and creating niches for plants, trees, and land animals. Disruption of these ecosystems can have a cascading effect, starting at the microbial level. Factors such as turbidity, pH, water conductivity, metals concentration in the water, and sediments can all impact the diversity of fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, and neighboring plant species. This study monitored the health of Laurel Fork running along HWY 105 south from Boone. Methods involved analyzing metal concentrations in sediment and water on an Inductively Coupled Plasma spectrometer, chlorine, nitrate, and phosphate levels measured on an Ion Chromatograph, fish shocked for an Index of Biotic Integrity, water conditions collected off a portable meter, and water tested for Coliform cultures. The fish IBI returned a value of acceptable species diversity, but with a lower than normal abundance value for each species. Metal concentrations in water support this finding with silver concentrations of around 0.3 parts per billion, nearly five times higher than the set NC standard. Such high levels have been shown to impair juvenile trout, and quicken the hatch rate before fry reach the normal stage for hatching.
tox_vulcan_laurel_fork_assessment.pdf | |
File Size: | 486 kb |
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Page 10, and Tables 5 and 6 can be found below:
tox_vulcan_tables_5_and_6.pdf | |
File Size: | 378 kb |
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