North Texas Daily

Joshua Knopp / Staff Writer

A natural gas derrick on the outskirts of Denton leaked for more than 12 hours today.

According to residents, the derrick started leaking gas into the air around 3 a.m. The Texas Commission for Environmental Quality was alerted at 10 a.m. Four families living next to the derrick were evacuated soon after. Workers got the leak under control at 3:40 p.m.

Assistant city manager Lindsey Baker said a pipe became disconnected in the derrick. The cause of the disconnect is still unknown, but Baker said the gas is probably not dangerous.

“My understanding is that its primarily water vapor, so there isn’t much danger,” she said. “That [evacuation] is a precautionary measure that we would take in the case of any incident.”

Baker said the toxicity of the surrounding air is still being tested.

According to the American Petroleum Institute’s website, water used for hydraulic fracturing is typically mixed with small amounts of chemical additives such as ethylene glycol and guar gum.

The North Texas Daily will have more information in the next issue.

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The Daily originally published this brief around noon. Updated information is above.

A fracking pipeline on the corner of Jim Christal road and Western Boulevard is leaking gas into the air. Authorities are saying the gas is mostly water vapor and probably not dangerous, but local homes are being evacuated by HAZMAT teams and the air space has been blocked off.

Jim Christal Road has been blocked off eastbound from Masch Branch Road and westbound from Western Boulevard. Read more on this in next Tuesday’s NT Daily.