Find research related to health impacts of chemicals used in unconventional oil and gas operations, including drilling, fracturing, and waste removal. TEDX’s spreadsheets are tools for government and non-government organizations, the public, and scientists to have easy acces to relevant research.
TEDX collected hundreds of Material Safety Data Sheets to create a database of nearly 1,000 chemical products used by drilling and fracking companies during natural gas operations. Chemicals that could be identified in the scientific literature were searched for research on their health effects. The resulting spreadsheet has been used by government and non-government organizations needing such information to protect public health.
TEDX’s Drilling Chemicals Spreadsheet contains a list of 32 chemicals revealed as a result of a well blowout in 2006 in Park County, Wyoming. A breach in surface casing during the drilling of the Crosby 25-3 well pad (prior to the use of fracking chemicals on the pad) led to a massive 58-hour release of chemicals into the surrounding environment. The responsible companies were required to report the names of the drilling chemicals, which are rarely available to the public. TEDX created a spreadsheet of the health effects of these drilling chemicals by searching the published scientific literature.
In 2007, an industry committee comprised of 19 oil and gas companies operating in New Mexico sponsored a sampling and analysis program of the solid material found in six drilling reserve pits in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico and the Permian Basin of southeast New Mexico. Drilling pits are reservoirs on the well pad used for storage of discarded fluids from drilling, fracturing, or other processes. TEDX researched the chemicals found in the pits and made the results publicly available.
