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Residents Near Kibler Well to Test Air Quality
WEATHERSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Residents of the Westwood Lake Park development sense something in the air -- and they'd like to know exactly what it is.
On Thursday, Ruth Breech, program director for California-based Global Community Monitor, met with residents of the Westwood park, a well-groomed mobile home development that sits just 580 feet from where Halcon Resources is drilling its second horizontal gas well.
"I'm working with the residents here on air emission samplings around natural gas operations," she said. This well site –- the Kibler well -- is of particular interest because of its nearness to the Westwood development.
"It's interesting because of the proximity of the residents to the well pad, and also the vulnerability here," Breech said. "This was an area that was downwind, near a well pad, and that it had seniors, small children and pregnant women -- people that need further protection."
Work on a second well at the Kibler pad began this week. The first well, drilled earlier this year, met with a strong backlash from residents who complained of constant noise, bright lights, and were also worried about pollution to the air and water near their houses.
Initial production results from the Kibler well proved very encouraging, Halcon said, and last week the company was awarded two additional horizontal well permits for the site.
With the new well, however, Halcon has constructed noise suppression walls around the perimeter that face the development. The structures should also reduce the amount of light the well pad generates, residents say.
Breech said the Kibler emissions test is part of a national study being conducted at locations near well sites, compressor stations, injection wells, open pits, dehydrators, and natural gas processing plants in Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Wyoming, and New York.
"What we want to do is document the residents' exposure and how this is impacting their day-to-day lives," she said.
The organization has performed air emissions studies in other states near natural-gas operations, Breech said. In two sites in Colorado and New Mexico, for example, air samples collected revealed elevated levels of benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene and hydrogen sulfide.
"These would be considered unsafe for long-term exposure," she said. One household experienced such high levels of hydrogen sulfide that its owners left, leaving the insurance company to buy them out.
Another case found a dehydrator directly across from an elementary school, Breech said. The air around the school was found to contain elevated levels of benzene. "Some of those samples are still in dispute," she said.
The air sampling devices used are rather simple. They consist of a clear, plastic bucket with two valves on the top. A clear bag -- called an "air lung" -- is placed in the bucket and connected to one of the valves. Vacuum pressure is used to pump a few liters of air from the outside into the bag. Once filled, the bag is sent overnight to a laboratory in California for analysis. "It gets tested for 87 toxic chemicals," she said. The results are usually processed within five to 10 business days, and chain of custody documentation ensures no one tampers with the air sample.
The objective is to empower members of the community to test air on their own, free from the bureaucracy of state or federal agencies, Breech said. "Our whole thing is to have citizens be a part of the scientific process,” she explained, “so that they understand the whole thing."
Often, a state or federal agency can take several days to respond to a complaint, Breech said. This way, a resident has the ability to collect a sample in real time.
Residents can then take the information provided by the tests to the companies or agencies and advocate for reduced air emissions, she noted. "Ultimately, what we're looking at is an increased quality of life," she said.
Pat McCrudden, a resident of the Westwood Park and the most vocal critic of the Kibler well, said the tests would help determine whether the well site is producing harmful emissions into the air.
The first well, she noted, caused a clamor in the neighborhood because of the noise and lights. "That was traumatic for most of us,” she said, “especially those of us who live around the lake."
McCrudden, whose home is closest to the Kibler site, said the lights were so bright at night that she had trouble sleeping. And, the loud noise caused by the well's flare test also annoyed residents and caused concerns about air pollution.
But since the first well, McCrudden said, the company has made strides in mitigating the impact on the nearby residents. "They've learned a lot,” she said. “I think they've found out that they have to do their part to be good neighbors."
In a letter dated Sept. 16 to Trumbull County commissioners, township trustees and safety administrators, Halcon informed officials that it intended to begin drilling operations within two weeks.
"Maintaining a safe and efficient work site for our employees and contractors is of the highest priority in this 24-hour-a-day operation and we also strive to be a respectful neighbor," the letter said.
"To that end, we have erected a noise barrier on a portion of the well site perimeter in an attempt to minimize noise from our operations. We also plan to take additional steps with directed industrial lighting to also help reduce distraction and disruption from night time safety lighting," the letter added.
"It's just a partial wall," McCrudden observes. "They haven't gotten into drilling yet."
McCrudden said that the company hasn't contacted her personally, but she has heard that Halcon would be drilling for another 12 to 18 months at the Kibler well.
"Our main concern is, why did they put it so close to all these homes?" McCrudden asks. "There are 335 homes in this park. We're just hoping for the best with this. We have no choice."
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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