PA Laundromats Struggle With Gas Drilling Clothes

The clothing worn by gas drilling workers gets pretty nasty.  Nothing new, I suppose.  Industrial workers get dirty.  However, what do the drillers get on their clothes?  We don't know what chemicals are used in the drilling process (proprietary, you know), so I guess we just have to hope that it's okay.  The washing machines at laudromats are getting all gummed up with a brownish film.  Sometimes the machines have to be serviced to clean them out for other customers.  I personally would not wash my baby's clothes in a machine that had just been used for contaminated clothes soaked in toxic chemicals and grease.  It would seem that laundromat owners are going to have to invest in industrial machines or at least designate certain machines for use by gas drillers. 

This does not, however, address the problem of the wash water and what it has in it after swishing around these clothes.  Presumably the water goes into the local sewer system.  Where does that water end up?  I hope the local municipal authorities are in the know about this.  But my hunch is that this potential problem has not been thought of properly.  As is the case so often with the gas industry,  the motto is:  Drill now; figure out the kinks later.

Read the Daily Review article here: LINK

Another related article here. (from pressconnects.com)

Oh, and another serious problem:  What about car washes?  Gas drillers bring their muddy trucks to wash them in self-service car washes.  What is in that wash water?  I shudder to think.