Oklahoma’s Oil Waste Crisis: Toxic Water Erupts from Underground

A hidden environmental disaster is unfolding beneath Oklahoma’s oil fields, where toxic wastewater containing cancer-causing chemicals is erupting from the ground in events regulators call “purges.” These contamination incidents have increased dramatically over the past five years, threatening drinking water supplies and public health across the state.

The crisis stems from a dangerous practice: oil companies inject billions of gallons of toxic “produced water” – a salty byproduct of drilling laced with carcinogens like benzene – back underground at extremely high pressures. This wastewater is many times saltier than seawater and contains chemicals linked to cancer. When injected at excessive pressures, it fractures rock layers meant to contain it and travels through Oklahoma’s estimated 300,000 abandoned, improperly sealed oil wells, creating pathways for the toxic fluid to reach the surface.

A yearlong investigation reveals that Oklahoma’s Corporation Commission has failed to adequately address this growing threat despite having clear regulatory authority. Danny Ray, a petroleum engineer hired in 2020 to tackle the problem, identified the root cause – overpressurized injection wells – but resigned in frustration after agency leadership repeatedly ignored his recommendations to lower pressure limits statewide. The agency has rarely fined companies or pursued legal action, even when purges contaminate drinking water supplies and kill livestock.

The contamination has already reached private wells, with some residents finding benzene at six times the EPA’s safe drinking water limit. As purges continue flowing near schools, homes, and public water sources, experts warn of an underground pollution crisis that could threaten Oklahoma’s groundwater for generations. The state relies on groundwater for over half its annual water use, making this environmental emergency a critical threat to public health and water security.