DEP Says Gas Drilling Not the Cause of Barium Poisoning

Last month I did a story for WHYY about Granville Summit, PA resident Crystal Stroud who linked her recent symptoms of barium poisoning to nearby natural gas drilling.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has finished their investigation and concluded that nearby gas drilling did not pollute Stroud’s well water with barium. The DEP says elevated levels of barium, iron, manganese, total dissolved solids chlorides and methane existed before gas drilling occured and exist due to a natural geological condition. DEP Community Relations Coordinator Daniel Spadoni released this statement:

DEP sampled Ms. Stroud’s water well and five nearby private water wells, reviewed past sample results of water wells in the area and interviewed the well owners regarding the historical quality of their drinking water. Most reported a history of salty and metallic-tasting water, dating back before Marcellus Shale drilling in the area. Some also indicated that their water had a milky appearance with sputtering at the faucet, which is indicative of methane gas. DEP staff collected isotopic samples at Ms. Stroud’s well that showed no connection to any nearby gas wells. DEP recommended to Ms. Stroud and the neighbors whose water well sampling detected methane that they install working vents on their wells, which is a customary safety precaution the department recommends to anyone whose water is found to contain methane.

A letter was sent to Crystal Stroud on Thursday detailing the DEP’s investigation, which can be read here.
The well near Stroud’s property was drilled by Chief Oil and Gas. They have also released their investigation and have given it some prominence on their website. Chief’s information is more extensive than DEP’s and includes a 1998 U.S Geological Survey report of Bradford County water, as well as pre-drill and  post-drill water testing results.

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