Craig man killed in explosion attempting to offload frac waste

Craig man killed in explosion attempting to offload frac waste by Krai 55 Country, January 4, 2013
Moffat County Sheriff’s Office says employees from Herod Industries were attempting to offload some produced water into a tank from a fracking site. … They tried to thaw the valves with a propane heater, which is what is believed to have caused the 300 barrel tank to explode.

Craig resident dies in tank explosion by Darian Warden, January 3, 2013, Craig Daily Press
A tank battery explosion Thursday morning on Moffat County Road 103 about seven miles north of Craig has resulted in the death of a local male resident. Jon Herod, 49, of Craig, was pronounced dead at the scene after a 300 barrel tank exploded. The incident, which Moffat County Sheriff’s Office deputies are investigating as an accident, occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Axia Energy’s Bulldog rig site 531. … According to a Sheriff’s Office news release, employees from Herod Industries were attempting to offload produced water from a fracking site elsewhere in Moffat County into a storage tank at Bulldog Rig 531. Employees were unable to offload the produced water due to frozen valves from the cold weather, said an Axia Energy supervisor in a statement to law enforcement officials. Investigator Jeremy Ashton, of the Sheriff’s Office, said law enforcement officials think Herod used a propane heating device to thaw the valves. … Although Ashton said they’re not exactly sure what caused the explosion, they believe residual oil in the tank could have sparked the fire and explosion. Ashton said when water from the fracking site is pumped into the tanks, the tanks are supposed to isolate the oil that’s in the water. [Emphasis added]

[Refer also to: Investigators say an accumulation of gases appears to have caused the 2005 explosion that destroyed the Rosebud water tower and sent a Wheatland County employee to hospital

Scientist wants EnCana to be held accountable  “Alberta Environment found methane, toluene and kerosene in the hamlet water. Kerosene is a red flag indicator of petroleum industry contamination. The community’s concrete water tower lid exploded off in January 2005 seriously injuring a worker, months after EnCana fractured the aquifers and diverted fresh water from its CBM. A propane torch was blamed. What if EnCana’s shallow fracturing caused methane to release? What if kerosene caused the explosion? The new water tower cost nearly $700,000. The $150,000 that EnCana promised the Rosebud Theatre (a few months after the first water well went bad) seems a cheap solution.” ]

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