Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, can result in long-term environmental contamination and human exposure risks.
Key Findings
Between 2013 and 2023, five companies injected PFAS into a total of 43 horizontal gas wells in eight counties in West Virginia.
Nearly 2,000 more wells in the state have been injected with unidentified chemicals that are not disclosed to the public.
There is an urgent need for increased public awareness about where PFAS are being used and the risks associated with exposure.
Wells Fracked With “Forever Chemicals” in West Virginia
A report released in March 2024 by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), with mapping by FracTracker Alliance, reveals that oil and gas companies have used a highly persistent and toxic class of chemicals known as PFAS for hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in West Virginia.
According to the report, data publicly disclosed by the oil and gas industry shows that, between 2013 and 2023, five companies injected PFAS into a total of 43 horizontal gas wells in eight counties in West Virginia. The report also indicates that nearly 2,000 more wells in the state have been injected with unidentified chemicals that are not disclosed to the public because they are classified as “trade secrets” under state law, some of which could be PFAS chemicals.
Commonly referred to as “forever chemicals,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, can result in long-term environmental contamination and human exposure risks, including cancer, immune system dysfunction, and developmental problems. Due to their toxicity, there is an urgent need for increased public awareness about where PFAS are being used and the risks associated with exposure to this class of hazardous chemicals.
Wells in West Virginia Fracked with PTFE/Teflon or Trade Secret Chemicals
This interactive map looks at oil and gas wells in West Virginia that are known to have used PTFE/Teflon or trade secret chemicals.
View the map “Details” tab below in the top right corner to learn more and access the data, or click on the map to explore the dynamic version of this data. Data sources are also listed at the end of this article. In order to turn layers on and off in the map, use the Layers dropdown menu. This tool is only available in Full Screen view. Items will activate in this map dependent on the level of zoom in or out.
View Full Size Map | Updated 3/29/2024 | Map Tutorial
Uncovering Unknown Chemicals
To visualize the data, Matt Kelso of FracTracker Alliance mapped the locations where PFAS and trade secret chemicals have been used to frack wells in West Virginia based on data analyzed by Gary Allison, the developer behind Open-FF, an open source project sponsored by FracTracker that makes industry chemical disclosure data from FracFocus accessible to the public.
According to Kelso, FracTracker’s manager of data of technology, mapping the wells injected with PFAS or trade secret chemicals is critical to showing the proximity of these wells to where people live, work, and recreate.
“It’s one thing to hear about some number of wells in Wetzel County or Doddridge County,” Kelso said. “Seeing them on a map gives a sense of the extent of the phenomenon, and also implicitly reminds viewers that there are people, schools, churches—all of the things that people care about—in these same communities.”
The interactive map shows the oil and gas wells in West Virginia that were fracked between 2012 and 2022 with the PFAS chemical polytetrafluoroethylene, also known as PTFE or Teflon, or at least one trade secret chemical or trade secret surfactant that are possibly PFAS. However, the extensive use of trade secret designations in West Virginia may obscure the extent to which companies use PFAS and other toxic chemicals in oil and gas extraction.
Gary Allison, the developer behind Open-FF who analyzed data for the report, says it’s a major cause for concern that the full extent of the problem isn’t known, which is primarily due to oil and gas companies and chemical manufacturers using the trade secret designation to avoid disclosing the specific identities of the chemicals used in fracking to the public.
“One of the most interesting and frustrating things is how, even though we have this data set (FracFocus) with over six million chemical records for over 200,000 fracking jobs, the degree of PFAS use is still unknown,” said Allison, the founder of Open-FF who analyzed data for the report based on oil and gas industry disclosures on FracFocus, the national hydraulic fracturing chemical registry managed by the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC).
Wells in West Virginia
Data analyzed using Open-FF uncovered nearly 2,000 wells were fracked with trade secrets chemicals in West Virginia.
Wells in West Virginia
Data analyzed using Open-FF uncovered nearly 2,000 wells were fracked with trade secrets chemicals in West Virginia.
The Impact of PFAS Chemicals
While West Virginia has a long history with PFAS chemicals, the report highlights that the use of PFAS and secret chemicals in fracking isn’t limited to West Virginia. Previous reports compiled by Physicians for Social Responsibility with mapping by FracTracker confirm PFAS have been used for fracking in other states, including Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Texas, indicating it could be an industry-wide issue with far-reaching consequences for communities and the environment.
Though the risks of PFAS have been known for decades, the full extent of their impact on human health and the environment has become increasingly evident in recent years. In 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated “two of the most widely used PFAS as hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund, which authorizes the President to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment.
“It’s important to keep talking about these chemicals. Since they may affect private water supplies for generations to come, and therefore, they may affect the health of people who rely on those water sources,” Kelso said. “While the class of PFAS chemicals is very broad, I think it is also—as a group—just one of many aspects of drilling and waste that are inherently dangerous and worth highlighting.”
References & Where to Learn More
- Download “Fracking With ‘Forever Chemicals’ in West Virginia” by Physicians for Social Responsibility
- Previous reports on the use of PFAS by the oil and gas industry:
- Explore Open-FF to learn more about chemical disclosure data
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