Chemistry Matters' Blog

I was testifying several weeks at a trial for a case I have been working on for three years. Most legal cases can drag on for very long periods of time.  All cases that I have been on have lasted a minimum of 2 years.

It was not that long ago that a smoky haze was across southern Alberta from fires in Washington State.  The haze was caused by wildfires and the winds moved the smoke over Alberta.  Wildfires seem to be very common lately with the latest one making the news from California. Wildfires can be caused naturally or caused by...

With the smoky haze that has spread across southern BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan from a very large wildfire in Washington state. There are health advisories issued across the provinces.

Last week, we presented a problem with regard to “peek-a-boo” SCVs, where data results are inconsistent at best. Because of this variability in the 'show'ers, the standard test may not capture the event appropriately. As prefaced in last week’s post, your data shows periodic flow and no buildup pressure. The well will...

Easy to know where this title came from . . . if you don't know, I won't be telling you online. This title actually came from one of our clients and was used to describe their issues with testing surface casing vent flows. Some were definite ‘flows’, with gases and/or liquids coming out of the surface casing...

Two weeks ago, I attended the SPE-CSGM (Society of Petroleum Engineers)-Canadian Society of Gas Migration workshop on “Gas Migration Challenges – Identification and Treatment,” in beautiful Banff, Alberta.

In recent weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with potential clients, several of whom are questioning the isotope numbers they received from the labs. Some are even suspicious of the very use of isotope geochemistry to help identify well issues, such as surface casing vent flows or even gas migration.

Social media chatter regarding a recent Environmental Science & Technology site publication caught my attention. The article covers fracking (a very, very bad word in today’s society), and how polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were high near gas production areas studied by this article. Since I am passionate...

Introduction to ‘Dioxins’

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are considered some of the most toxic chemicals known to man. We can argue about the apparent toxicity some other time, but personally, I think it might be a little over exaggerated. Nowadays, it is very...

I was working through a report and presentation my company had made on environmental forensics fingerprinting of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a spill event. I really was enjoying the project because all the data 'made sense'. Nothing makes you feel more confident about results from a big project when...