Josie Farrer - Member for Kimberley
High levels of a radioactive material and other contaminants have been found in water from a West Australian fracking site but operators say it could be diluted and fed to beef cattle.
The revelations illustrate the potential risks associated with the contentious gas extraction process known as fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, as the Turnbull government pressures states to ease restrictions on the industry and develop their gas reserves.
The findings were contained in a report by oil and gas company Buru Energy that has not been made public. It shows the company also plans to reinject wastewater underground – a practice that has brought on seismic events when used in the United States. Buru Energy has been exploring the potentially vast “tight gas” resources of the Kimberly region’s Canning Basin. The work was suspended when the WA government last year introduced a fracking moratorium, subject to the findings of a scientific inquiry. In a submission to the inquiry obtained by the Lock the Gate Alliance, Buru Energy said a “relatively high concentration” of Radium-228, a radioactive element, was found in two water samples from a well in 2015 and 2016. The so-called “flowback water” contains fracking fluids, and water released from rock in which naturally-occurring radioactive materials can be concentrated. The samples exceeded drinking water guidelines for radionuclides. However Buru Energy said samples collected from retention ponds were below guideline levels and the water posed “no risk to humans or animals”. Water monitoring also detected elevated levels of the chemical elements barium, boron and chloride. Buru Energy said while the water was not suitable for human consumption, the “reuse of flowback water for beef cattle may also be considered”. The water did not meet stockwater guidelines but this could be addressed “through dilution with bore water”.The company's development in the Yulleroo area of the basin could lead to 80 wells operating over 20 years. The document says waste water would be disposed of by reinjecting it into the ground – a practice linked to “increased occurrence of seismic events” in the United States. Buru says seismic events are more likely when large amounts of water are involved, but it would use far smaller volumes. The company insists its fracking fluids are non-toxic and to illustrate its safety, executive chairman Eric Streitberg drank the fluid at the company’s 2016 annual general meeting. Mr Streitberg told Fairfax Media that Buru’s operations complied with the law and the company acted responsibly “without harming the environment”. “Buru has actively participated in the WA government’s inquiry into hydraulic fracturing and looks forward to its scientific findings,” he said. Lock the Gate WA spokeswoman Jane Hammond said it was alarming that Buru had so far fracked only a handful of wells yet found elevated chemicals and radionuclides in waste water. She said communities around Australia were overwhelmingly opposed to fracking and “it’s time for national leadership to protect our land and water resources and keep communities safe”. The federal government has demanded that states with restrictions on gas exploration and production develop the reserves, and has indicated it may withhold GST revenue to those that refuse. Victoria has banned onshore unconventional gas exploration and development, including fracking. NSW has banned coal-seam gas exploration within two kilometres of residential areas and in key horse breeding and viticulture areas, and fracking is banned in South Australia’s south east for a decade. A spokesman for Mr Frydenberg said the government “supports the Finkel review recommendation that a scientific evidence-based approach be taken to gas development”. Labor environment spokesman Tony Burke said Buru’s operations “are likely to raise significant and possibly prohibited concerns under the water trigger”. He said the law should be used properly, including acting on input from scientific experts.
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