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High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Data for Wastewater Samples Collected at an on-Site Separator and Storage Tank at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) 2015-2019, Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP), West Virginia

July 31, 2023

The Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) is part of the Northeast Natural Energy LLC (NNE) production facility on the Monongahela River in Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA. Natural gas extraction in the area creates large volumes of wastewater that may contain chemical compounds that pose risks to humans, animals, and the environment. The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been studying the organic compounds in water produced from shale gas wells and in 2014, NNE started drilling two production wells in the Marcellus Shale. The well, MIP (Morgantown Industrial Park) -5H, was completed the following year. Samples were collected from this well. Large volumes of wastewater fluids were produced from this well and contain a mixture of chemicals added during hydraulic fracturing of the formation and chemical constituents from the host rocks. The original hydraulic fracturing fluids and the wastewater contain organic materials that could be toxic or pose risks to the environment if leaked, spilled, or improperly disposed of. This project was designed to collect comprehensive data from multiple sample types, including Monongahela River water, wastewater collected at the separator (during the flowback and produced-water phase), storage tank wastewater, and field blanks. Water samples for the analyses contained in this release were collected from July 2015 through December 2018. Samples of Monongahela River water were collected from a lined holding pond adjacent to the MIP well pad on November 5, 2015. Wastewater was intermittently sampled from the MIP-5H separator on the well pad from December 10, 2015, to December 6, 2018. The wastewater produced during the first two weeks of production was labeled as flowback water until December 23, 2015, then the wastewater produced after this date was defined as produced water. A storage tank at the well pad site was sampled on December 6, 2018. This data release contains non-target liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry data.

Publication Year 2023
Title High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Data for Wastewater Samples Collected at an on-Site Separator and Storage Tank at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) 2015-2019, Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP), West Virginia
DOI 10.5066/P9BPBR8S
Authors Daniel L Tush, Rachael F Lane, Isabelle M Cozzarelli, Jeanne B Jaeschke
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization Kansas Water Science Center