Dome issues kept quiet, Ongoing defect preceded sinkhole

Dome issues kept quiet, Ongoing defect preceded sinkhole by David Mitchell, August 10, 2012, River Parishes bureau
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Texas Brine Co. officials knew at least since January 2011 that one of the company’s salt dome caverns may have developed problems now suspected of possibly causing a large sinkhole and unexplained natural gas venting in northern Assumption Parish swamps. … The problems with the salt cavern were not disclosed to the public and some parish officials involved with the response effort. … DNR records show that on Aug. 31, 1995, the agency authorized Texas Brine to dispose of 20 cubic feet of naturally occurring radioactive material by pumping it into the cavern and another Texas Brine salt cavern in Lafourche Parish. … A Texas Brine letter dated Aug. 25, 1995, requesting the disposal says the radioactive “scale” had accumulated in soils around the two cavern wells. … The radioactivity of scale, a common byproduct of oil and gas exploration and production, can vary widely from background levels to much higher, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says. DEQ officials said Wednesday NORM materials can be harmful if ingested and confirmed they had not been testing the sinkhole for radioactivity.

This entry was posted in Global Frac News. Bookmark the permalink.