{"id":116327,"date":"2014-11-24T21:50:25","date_gmt":"2014-11-25T04:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/well-venting-presents-health-risk-2\/"},"modified":"2014-11-24T21:50:25","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T04:50:25","slug":"well-venting-presents-health-risk-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/well-venting-presents-health-risk-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Well venting presents health risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jim
Jim Mimiaga\/Cortez Journal<br><br>A drilling rig near Pleasant View posts this sign to warn the public of potentially dangerous levels of gases emitted from the well.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

As Kinder Morgan ramps up production, concerns about public safety from well venting are being heard.<\/p>\n

Venting, also called \u201cflow tests,\u201d occurs when operators try to determine the gases and pressures the drilling rig has encountered in geologic formations underground, up to 8,000 feet deep.<\/p>\n

The invisible, often odorless gases are released into the atmosphere and measured. They include CO2, methane and deadly hydrogen sulfide.<\/p>\n

CO2 is non-poisonous, but it displaces oxygen and has a tendency to gather in low spots, a potentially lethal problem for humans and animals.<\/p>\n

Resident John Wolf knows about the hazard. This summer, venting caused strange smells, and his family evacuated to Cortez.<\/p>\n

\u201cI woke up with a headache, and could hear a constant roar from a well a mile away,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cGas poured into our ravine, and my 90-year old mother-in-law breathed it in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resident Jerry Berg also lives near a well at county roads CC and 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m worried about fumes,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen the wind comes from the west, and a well is being purged, I wonder if I\u2019m safe, if the deer are safe. It\u2019s an unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a poisonous gas that can be released during drilling when certain geologic formations are hit. Safety protocols for workers and the public are strict on H2S, said Phil Kennedy, a Kinder Morgan engineer.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach worker wears a badge that detects harmful levels of the gas, and if that occurs then the operation is shut down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Public roads are also supposed to be blocked off if the gas is in high concentrations.<\/p>\n

Warning signs with colored flags are positioned around drilling rigs. Red indicates an extreme level; orange, moderate; and green, the potential for gas releases.<\/p>\n

Kennedy said safety procedures for venting are strict by state and federal laws, but procedures were improved after the Wolf incident.<\/p>\n

Detection equipment regularly monitors CO2 levels and H2S outside the well, and residents are told of dangerous levels.<\/p>\n

If officials feel venting has created a health risk, residents are offered hotel rooms and meals until the area is safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they choose to stay, we station an employee with a air monitor at their home,\u201d Kennedy said.<\/p>\n

Kinder Morgan venting procedures are available at the Montezuma County planning office. They also include:<\/p>\n

The company contacting the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission and local emergency responders before venting procedures.<\/p>\n

A roster of neighbors who choose not to relocate as a precaution from venting is created for use by first responders in the event of an emergency.<\/p>\n

Venting is stopped if CO2 concentrations exceed 0.5 percent at a well site, public roads or residential driveways. Venting is stopped if CO2 concentrations exceed 0.2 percent at residential locations where people are not willing to relocated during a test.<\/p>\n

If residents are evacuated, before returning to their homes, monitors confirm CO2 and oxygen levels are normal as defined by OSHA.<\/p>\n

Wolf wants more alarms in neighborhoods, not just at the wellhead. He also wants the Colorado Department of Health to investigate air quality around CO2 wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel the fox should guard the henhouse in this situation,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel the public deserves more information about venting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well venting can last 24 hours, several days, or up to two weeks, according to officials.<\/p>\n

jmimiaga@cortezjournal.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Residents say more information needed<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[222,13,622],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-116327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-environmental-pollution","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-kinder-morgan"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116327"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=116327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}