Hazardous “forever chemicals” used in Colorado for fracking, report says

Long-lasting chemicals with links to cancers and other ailments have been used in Colorado to frack oil and gas wells, a national health and environmental organization says in a new report.

Physicians for Social Responsibility said an analysis shows that a class of chemicals called PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” were used in nearly 300 oil and gas wells in the state and might have been used in many more over the past decade.

Besides fracking, the report said the chemicals were used in enhanced oil recovery techniques to extract oil later in a well’s life.

Dusty Horwitt, author of “Fracking with ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Colorado,” said in a call Wednesday with reporters that PSR worked with an independent data scientist to analyze the chemicals reported by oil and gas companies on the FracFocus. The database is a national registry managed by two associations of state officials.

Of 12,000 Colorado wells whose fracking chemicals were listed as trade secrets on FracFocus from 2011 to 2021, more than 3,200 used “surfactants,” according to the report. Horwitt said the substances could have been fluorosurfactants, in the PFAS family and used in fracking in other states.

The use of the chemicals in Colorado could stretch back even further, Horwitt said. A 2008 article in The Open Petroleum Engineering Journal refers to flurosurfactants used in a Moffat County well to speed up the flow of oil.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure underground to open fissures, making it easier for the oil and gas to flow. Colorado has about 49,850 active oil and gas wells.

“The amount of chemicals in the fracking fluid is typically very small, 1% or less of the fluid,” Horwitt said. “But some of these chemicals can be so toxic that even very small amounts can contaminate large amounts of drinking water and could make people sick if people were exposed.”

Cracks or gaps in the concrete casing the hole used to drill a well can result in fracking fluids migrating to underground water, Horwitt said. Wastewater brought up to the surface might contain the chemicals.

“The potential that people could be exposed and become sick is real,” Horwitt said, noting that wells are increasingly being drilled near homes and schools.

The PFAS chemicals — per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances — have been widely used for decades by all kinds of industries for their ability to repel water and resist heat, stains and grease. The chemicals are used in firefighting foam, food packaging, waterproof coats and carpets.

The synthesized substances are called “forever chemicals” because they last a long time in the environment. Horwitt said although a lack of information makes it difficult to know why the chemicals are used in drilling, he said it’s likely that they reduce friction in fracking and make it easier for the oil and gas to flow.

The Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that PFAS levels in drinking water not exceed 70 parts per trillion, but there are few restrictions on their use, said Sonya Lunder, the Boulder-based senior toxics policy adviser for the Sierra Club.

While new EPA Administrator Michael Regan has said he’ll “use every tool in the toolbox to regulate PFAS,” Lunder expects it to be years before safeguards are put in place.