The abandoned wells can leak oilfield brine and cancer-causing chemicals that are components of crude oil, such as benzene. They also can emit methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide.
<div class="at-above-post addthis tool" data-url="https://www.metro.us/state-and-us-officials-tout-spending-to-plug-orphan-wells/"></div>ATCHAFALAYA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, La. (AP) Stacks of valves, networks of pipes and hulking, two-story-tall tanks litter parts of the swampy landscape of Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin, rusting relics of sites where oil wells were drilled in the 1970s, an unwanted legacy of the energy industry that has long helped drive the Louisiana economy. They […]<! AddThis Advanced Settings above via filter on get the excerpt ><! AddThis Advanced Settings below via filter on get the excerpt ><! AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get the excerpt ><! AddThis Share Buttons above via filter on get the excerpt ><! AddThis Share Buttons below via filter on get the excerpt ><div class="at-below-post addthis tool" data-url="https://www.metro.us/state-and-us