Source: Cumberland Times-News (MD), April 16, 2016
Posted on: http://www.advisen.com
There is a detectable change in the quality of Garrett County’s air when winds blow toward Western Maryland from fracking operations in neighboring states, a federal researcher said Thursday.
Although hydraulic fracturing of the earth to obtain natural gas is not yet allowed in Maryland, existing operations are not far away in West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
“The isotopes in methane have fingerprints that allow us to determine its origin,” said Natalie Pekney of the U.S. Department of Energy.
By examining the individualized fingerprints, Pekney can discover if the methane was already in the atmosphere, arose from biological sources or from beneath the surface of the earth.
For four months — one in each season of the calendar year — Pekney could sit in her Pittsburgh office and monitor the content of the air being breathed by people near Oakland.
When the winds came from the south, southwest or northeast — locations where fracking operations exist — the level of methane increased in Garrett County.
“Some methane is released intentionally as part of the fracking process and some, known as fugitive emissions, escapes,” Pekney said.
Working with the Maryland Department of the Environment, the federal agency towed an 18-foot trailer loaded with monitoring devices to a farm near Oakland where it vacuumed air from the Garrett County countryside and inspected its contents.
By way of a satellite link, Pekney could remotely follow the results.
Data was collected from May through August in 2014 and from November 2014 through February 2015.
“The average concentration of methane during those periods was 1.9 parts per million, which is close to what naturally occurs,” Pekney said.
Concentrations spiked to 4 ppm at times, she added.
Pekney’s goal is to establish an air quality baseline for far Western Maryland.
In the event fracking is approved in the state, that information will be used to determine any changes.
Maryland placed a moratorium on fracking in 2011, opting to wait until more knowledge about environmental impacts became available.
“We have no secrets,” Pekney said. “All of our findings are public.”
The results of the Garrett County monitoring will soon be available at Energy Data eXchange.
Currently, shale gas provides 23 percent of all natural gas production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
By 2035, that contribution is expected to rise to half of the total.
Pekney was brought to the Appalachian Laboratory as part of its Visiting Scholar Seminar Series.