Also Revealed: 70 Million Pounds of Undisclosed Oil and Gas Chemicals Could Include PFAS

WESTON, W.Va – A new report reveals that between 2013 and 2022, oil and gas companies used the extremely toxic and  persistent chemicals known as PFAS in West Virginia’s horizontal gas wells, the type of wells  responsible for most of the state’s gas production.  

The report, by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), further documents that companies also injected  those wells with almost 70 million pounds of undisclosed “trade secret” chemicals that could include  additional PFAS. 

PSR’s report, Fracking with “Forever Chemicals” in West Virginia, based on publicly available oil and  gas industry disclosures, shows how gaps built into West Virginia’s industry-friendly disclosure rules  prevent the public from knowing how widely PFAS – or other toxic chemicals – are used in fracking and  other stages and methods of oil and gas extraction. 

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a highly dangerous class of laboratory-made chemicals  known for their extreme toxicity. They resist breaking down in the environment, leading to their  nickname, “forever chemicals,” and accumulate in the human body where they can cause severe health  effects, including cancer. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has indicated that for some types of PFAS, no  amount in drinking water is safe. 

“The publicly disclosed use of PFAS in West Virginia’s gas wells, the extensive use of trade secret  chemicals that could include PFAS, and the new evidence linking PFAS used in oil and gas wells to  polluted water supplies, should be a call to action for West Virginia,” stated Dusty Horwitt, J.D., the  report’s lead author. 

“These ‘forever’ chemicals are far too dangerous to be set loose in the environment like this,” observed  report coauthor Barbara Gottlieb. “Once this toxic genie is out of the bottle, there is no putting it back. 

West Virginia officials should immediately protect the public by prohibiting the use of PFAS in oil and  gas extraction and requiring full disclosure of all chemicals used in oil and gas wells.” 

Few studies exist of PFAS pollution linked to oil and gas extraction, perhaps because the use of these  chemicals in oil and gas operations has only recently come to light. But a separate peer-reviewed study  published in November 2023 found evidence of PFAS pollution from oil and gas operations in three West  Virginia water wells where nearby oil and gas operations were the only identifiable sources of PFAS  within more than one and a quarter miles. 

PSR’s report documents that: 

● Between 2013 and 2022, oil and gas companies reported injecting 43 horizontal gas wells in eight West  Virginia counties with a type of PFAS called PTFE, commonly known as Teflon. However, these  industry-reported figures may significantly underrepresent the use of PFAS in West Virginia’s oil and gas  wells. 

● Between 2013 and 2022, oil and gas companies injected more than 1,900 horizontal gas wells in 15  West Virginia counties with at least one unidentified “trade secret” chemical, totaling 69 million pounds.  At least some of these chemicals could be PFAS. 

● Chemical manufacturers know best what chemicals are being used in oil and gas wells, but West  Virginia’s oil and gas chemical disclosure rules generally do not require the manufacturers to disclose  chemical identities to well operators and service companies, the entities that must make disclosures to the  public. As a result, the companies responsible for disclosure may be unable to inform the public (and  fulfill their legal duties). 

● Private water wells in rural areas where most drilling and fracking are conducted may be at particularly  high risk of PFAS contamination, and once contaminated, groundwater is especially difficult to clean up.  But communities where oil and gas waste is taken for disposal, miles from drilling sites, also face risks  from PFAS contamination. 

These findings raise concerns that residents may unknowingly be exposed through well water or other  pathways to PFAS and other hazardous substances used in hundreds or even thousands of oil and gas  wells. 

“The oil and gas industry must be transparent in their use of toxic chemicals to protect public health.”

Autumn Crowe, Interim Executive Director of WV Rivers Coalition

In response to the findings, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, West Virginia Environmental Council, West  Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, West Virginia Citizen Action  Group, Potomac Riverkeepers, and West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Organization urged West  Virginia to take immediate action to resolve this problem, calling for the state to require the Oil and Gas  Industry to be transparent in reporting PFAS usage and accountable for PFAS treatment costs in  contaminated drinking water. 

“The oil and gas industry must be transparent in their use of toxic chemicals to protect public health,”  Autumn Crowe, Interim Executive Director of WV Rivers Coalition, stated. “The PFAS Protection Act  [HB3189] requires industries to report PFAS usage to the West Virginia Department of Environmental  Protection, and the oil and gas industry should be no exception.” 

“This report shows the oil and gas industry has contaminated drinking water sources with their use of  toxic chemicals,” stated Maria Russo, Clean Water Campaign Coordinator with WV Rivers. “The  industry must be held responsible for the contamination they have caused. This includes treatment costs for drinking water sources found to be contaminated with PFAS to alleviate the burden on taxpayers and  water utilities.” 

Bill Price, Conservation Chair of the West Virginia Chapter, Sierra Club, added, “People in West Virginia  need to know that this is contaminating their communities. Only through transparency can people in the  community keep their families safe and healthy.” 

PSR’s analysis is based largely on a review of industry self-reported data recorded in the non governmental FracFocus database, the official repository for West Virginia’s required disclosure of  chemicals used to frack horizontal gas wells. Find the full report here.

From Physicians for Social Responsibility

Learn more about the impacts of fracking upon West Virginia’s people and land in my book, “Fractured Sanctuary: A Chronicle of Grassroots Activists Fighting Pipelines of Destruction in West Virginia”. The reporting includes the time period covered in the PSR report.

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