What's In Your Water Wednesday: Methanol

Methanol (not to be confused with methane or ethanol) is a term you may have heard before. Some common places you can find it are:

• fuel additives for vehicles
• denatured alcohol
• paint thinners
• windshield wiper fluid
• and even the latest nail polish craze, Shellac.

Fun Fact: It's also called wood alcohol or wood spirit because it can be produced from pretty much any plant.

But what is it, really? This is a highly flammable liquid, and it evaporates quickly. It looks and smells a lot like drinking alcohol (ethanol), but you'd definitely end up with a lot more than a hangover if you drank this stuff. It's considered a "hazardous chemical" according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Hazard Communication Standard.

Why? Methanol, if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin, can cause central nervous system depression that's a lot like drunkenness. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, confusion, dizziness, and incoordination. Without treatment, however, methanol poisoning can lead to coma, death, or permanent vision impairment/blindness after an 8-24 hour symptom-free period.

Methanol is most often found on fracking fluid ingredient lists as a "corrosion inhibitor" or "scale inhibitor." That's because methanol is good at protecting the drilling pipes from being eaten away by other substances used in fracking fluid, like acids. If you'd like to find out if drilling sites in your area are using methanol for fracking purposes, you can search methanol's CAS number, 67-56-1, at www.fracfocus.com.

As always, FracTest's main goal on WIYWW is to educate homeowners on the potential drinking water contaminants associated with oil and gas drilling. If you live near drilling activity and would like a homeowner's report about what's in your water, visit www.fractest.com.

That's a wrap! Thanks for reading, and be sure to subscribe.