Benzene, for example, doesn’t combust fully. It’s not entirely clear, but generally speaking, organic compounds will tend to be combusted when burned. What happens when a hazardous substance or carcinogen gets burned on a person’s kitchen range? Stuff that’s nasty going into the ground and nasty coming out of the ground. We’re having to sleuth and reverse-engineer this weird mix of stuff. Different companies have their own recipes of substances that they don’t in many cases have to reveal. Phillips: It’s a combination of stuff that was already in the ground and stuff that is part of that cocktail or mixture, the proprietary compound. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi BU Today: How do hazardous substances get into natural gas during fracking? Nathan Phillips, CAS earth and environment professor. Although the full study has not yet been finalized or submitted for publication, Phillips talked to BU Today about questions raised by his study and the problems with fossil fuel dependence. Phillips’ early findings were presented at the symposium Natural Gas Infrastructure and Public Health, from Local to Global, held January 30 at the Photonics Center. ![]() Of the 108 volatile organic compounds, or substances that easily become vapors or gases, found in gas from four Massachusetts municipalities tested, 27 are chemicals that are considered hazardous by federal Clean Air Act standards, and 12 are suspected carcinogens. Phillips and a team of researchers from several universities and nonprofits are finding out, and they are concerned. “It’s 90 to 95 percent methane, but what else?” “Few if any people have actually tested for what else is in this gas,” says Nathan Phillips, a College of Arts & Sciences earth and environment professor, one of the country’s foremost experts on natural gas leaks and explosions in the United States. ![]() It rose to that level over the past 15 years, with little examination of the health risks of the chemicals that are used in fracking and released when the gas is burned. Natural gas that has been derived from hydraulic fracking is now the most commonly used fuel in gas fireplaces and kitchen ranges.
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