Gas wells could leak chemicals into water

Chemicals linked with the production of coal seam gas have not been evaluated by the national regulator, a chemical management specialist says.

As expansion in the coal seam gas industry continues to boom, fears grow that the groundwater of Great Artesian Basin will be poisoned.

Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith, an adviser to the federal government's National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS), said environmental applications by the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) contained out of date and deficient safety data.

QGC is a coal seam gas explorer and producer.

"I've had a look at the application and what is of concern - the manufacturer's safety data sheets, or the material safety data sheets they include, they are certainly not the Australian standard and as such they are in breach of both the Queensland Act and the national code for material safety data sheets," Dr Lloyd-Smith told ABC Television.

Coal seam gas occurs when methane and other gases are released when pressure on the coal seam is reduced, usually by removal of water from the seam.

Dr Lloyd-Smith said two of the 23 most commonly used compounds in fracturing fluids had been assessed by NICNAS, but their evaluation was not for that particular purpose.

"So you can basically say of the 23 major chemicals used in this process, they have not been assessed by any national regulator," she said.

A principal hydrologist for 13 years with the Queensland government, John Hillier, said he had concerns about the impact of the coal seam gas industry would have on the Great Artesian Basin.

Mr Hillier said around 95 per cent of the gas wells expected to be built would be of a satisfactory standard but issues could arise from the rest.

Federal Environment and Water Minister Tony Burke said thresholds on water extraction had been set in the Great Artesian Basin, which was the basis for his approval of the $31 billion Santos and QGC coal seam gas projects.

"My conditions sayso test them all and then apply the rules based on what each test says for each seam and if every seam comes out with connectivity, then re-pressurisation or re-injection of water, no matter how expensive, will end up being the pathway that is followed and that's exactly what should happen," Mr Burke said.

The $35 billion Origin and ConocoPhillips Australia Pacific Liquefied Natural Gas project in southern Queensland has received the tick from the state government but awaits approval from the Commonwealth.