Thursday, April 12, 2012

Hein Bans "Brining" of Ulster Roads

Love him or hate him, Hein gets this one right:
Ulster County Executive Michael Hein on Thursday signed an executive order prohibiting the purchase or use of hydraulic fracturing fluids on the 424 miles of county roads.

The order was signed at the county Department of Public Works garage and comes less than a week in advance of a county Legislature public hearing to ban use of hydrofracking “brine” for deicing or dust control.

“I believe an executive order is now required to eliminate any ambiguity once and for all,” he said.

[. . .]

“Keeping this kind of material out of the county is absolutely essential,” she said. “The brines contain not only heavy salt solutions, which are terrible, but also chemicals, potentially heavy metals, and according to the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation radioactivity.”
Didn't realize just how nasty this stuff is:
Chemical additives used in fracturing fluids typically make up less than 2% by weight of the total fluid.[45] Over the life of a typical well, this may amount to 100,000 gallons of chemical additives. These additives (listed in a U.S. House of Representatives Report[46]) include biocides, surfactants, viscosity-modifiers, and emulsifiers. They vary widely in toxicity: Many are used in household products such as cosmetics, lotions, soaps, detergents, furniture polishes, floor waxes, and paints,[47] and some are used in food products. Some, however, are known carcinogens, some are toxic, and some are neurotoxins. For example: benzene (causes cancer, bone marrow failure), lead (damages the nervous system and causes brain disorders), ethylene glycol (antifreeze, causes death), methanol (highly toxic), boric acid (kidney damage, death), 2-butoxyethanol (causes hemolysis). Gamma-emitting isotopes (radioactive; can cause cancer) are also included in the fluid as tracers. Some of the isotopes used are Antimony-121, Antimony-122, Antimony-123, Antimony-124, Antimony-125, Antimony-126, Antimony-127, Chromium-51, Cobalt-57, Cobalt-58, Cobalt-60, Gold-198, Iodine-127, Iodine-128, Iodine-129, Iodine-130, Iodine-131, Iridium-192, Iron-59, Krypton-85, Lanthanum-140, Potassium-39 (activated to Potassium-40), Potassium-41 (activated to Potassium-42), Potassium-43, Rubidium-86, Scandium-45, Scandium-46, Scandium-47, Scandium-48, Silver-110, Strontium-85, Xenon-133, Zinc-65, and Zirconium-95. Several are typically combined and injected together.[39][40][41] Their half lifes range from 40.2 hours (Lanthanum-140) to 5.27 years (Cobalt-60).[48]
Probably a good thing it will no longer be running through our storm drains. Kudos to Hein for doing the right thing.

5 comments:

  1. Here is the truth as to why Hein did this now. He is no hero.

    The Legislature was already working on an anti brine resolution and he does not want to be directed by the Legislature to do anything.

    He had his crack team of PR Men and Women whip up a poster, hastily called a press conference and beat the Legislature to the punch.

    Not his idea, not his initiative and nothing more than politics for this guy. He probably didn't know what Fracking brine was before the press conference. Remember, this is the same guy who has not ruled out allowing Fracking in Ulster County. All he says is he has concerns, using all kinds adjectives to describe his concern, but never saying NO FRACKING!
    So yeah, F*ck Hein!

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    Replies
    1. Finally someone who knows the truth. If Hein is so worried about Fracking fluids, why wasn't his executive order to ban Fracking outright?

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  2. Robin Yess got it right. Hein pulled the rug out from under Blasser-Bernardo and the three ring circus she had planned for next week.

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  3. Well if Robin Yess got it right, then it's the FIRST thing she's ever gotten right. Never won an election, lasted 6 months as party chair, crybaby, sore loser, and vindictive. Wow, some track record.

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  4. Let's ask Robin for some of those emails and see why she left....its time everybody know the truth...

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