Potential Depletion and Pollution Due To Coal Seam Gas Extraction
On 21 February 2011, ABC Four Corners revealed that significant concerns were being expressed about depletion and chemical damage to the Great Artesian Basin as a result of coal seam gas extraction. In one incident, reported in the program, the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) 'fracked' its Myrtle 3 well connecting the Springbok aquifer to the coal seam below (the Walloon Coal Measures) in 2009, in the process releasing 130 litres of a potentially toxic chemical into the Great Artesian Basin. QGC admitted the incident, but did not report it to authorities for 13 months . The safety data sheet QGC had submitted for the fracking chemical was derived from the United States, incomplete and 10 years out of date Over 30 chemicals may be used in the process of 'fracking' and their long term impact on aquifers and the agriculture and people supported by them is unknown.
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