124 Fixing the Silent Leak: Identifying, Quantifying, Prioritizing, and Mitigating the Environmental and Health Impacts of Legacy Oil and Gas Drilling in North America

This session invites abstracts applying field studies, laboratory experiments, process-based and machine learning modeling, or multidisciplinary datasets to identify, quantify, and mitigate impacts from oil/gas wells of all types and statuses (active, abandoned, orphaned).

Monday, 20 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 214A

Participants

• Chair Gianni Micucci
• Chair Ruta Basijokaite
• Chair Tao WEN
• Chair Katie Smye
• Chair Jean-Philippe Nicot
• Chair Isabelle Cozzarelli

Presentations

• 2:00 PM
  Testing Methodologies for Locating and Measuring Emissions from Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells in Western Pennsylvania
  Margaret Coleman, Environmental Defense Fund, New York, New York and Adam Peltz, Environmental Defense Fund, New York, New York and Mary Kang, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec and Hari Viswanathan, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM and Neil Keown, Sawback Technologies, Calgary, Alberta and Don Hegburg, Office of Oil and Gas Management, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and David Adams, Office of Oil and Gas Management, Knox, Pennsylvania and Shawn Gainer, Bureau of Oil & Gas Planning and Program Management, Harrisburg, PA and Natalie Pekney, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pittsburgh, PA and Richard Hammack, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pittsburgh, PA and Jade Boutot, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec and James France, Environmental Defense Fund, Spelthorne, England
  412926 (Technical Sessions)
• 2:35 PM
  How are abandoned oil and gas wells impacting groundwater quality in the Appalachian Basin?
  Samuel Shaheen, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN and Max Lloyd, Penn State University, University Park, PA and Eric Roden, University of Wisconsin, Middleton, WI and Susan Brantley, Penn State University, University Park, PA
  413995 (Technical Sessions)
• 2:50 PM
  Natural Attenuation Processes in Different Types of Aquifers Contaminated by Petroleum Hydrocarbons
  Nenad Maric, Department of Ecological Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade and Jason Polk, Center for Human GeoEnvironmental Studies (CHNGES), Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY and Catherine Pirkle, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii
  414704 (Technical Sessions)
• 3:20 PM
  Temporal Variability in Methane Emissions from Non-Producing Oil and Gas Wells
  Paola Prado, McGill University, Montreal and Gianni Micucci, McGill University, Montreal and Mary Kang, McGill University, Montreal
  413209 (Technical Sessions)
• 3:35 PM
  The Magnitude and Origin of Methane Emissions from Kentucky’s Legacy Oil and Gas Infrastructure
  Deron Zierer, Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, KY and Alex Washburn, Kentucky Geological Survey, Burlington, KY and Alan Fryar, Univ Kentucky, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lexington, KY and Zachary Walton, Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, KY and Madison High, Kentucky Geological Survey, Horse Cave, KY and Andrew Hawksley, Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, KY and Thomas Parris, Kentucky Geological Survey, Lexington, Ky
  413339 (Technical Sessions)
• 3:50 PM
  Geochemical Signatures of Methane Emissions from Non-Producing Oil and Gas Wells in Canada
  Gianni Micucci, McGill University, Montréal and Mary Kang, McGill University, Montréal
  411939 (Technical Sessions)