Perceptions of CO2 Report - Global CCS Institute

BCQuestion statementsPlease read the following information on the impacts of CO 2. Pleaseconsider how important this information is to you in order to form anopinion about CO 2 capture and storage. Please tick the mostappropriate number.Lake Nyos is a crater lake in the Northwest Region of Cameroon,containing large amounts of CO 2 from volcanic activity. In 1986 a largecloud of CO 2 was emitted suddenly and became trapped in the valley,suffocating 1,700 people and 3,500 livestock in nearby villages.At some hot springs such as Nagayu in Japan and Bad Nauheim inGermany, people experience health benefits such as good bloodcirculation through bathing in water with high CO 2 concentrations (about1%).In Moenchengladbach, Germany, 107 people were injured (and 13 ofthose were treated in hospital) when a CO 2 fire extinguisher system of apaint factory malfunctioned and CO 2 was released. The nearby areawas sealed off for a time and residents were ordered to shut theirwindows and go to higher floors.For millions of years, CO 2 has been securely sealed underground innatural underground CO 2 reservoirs. For example, in the USA, CO 2fields called the Jackson, McElmo, and St. Johns Domes were formedmillions of years ago, and together hold 2.4 billion tons of CO 2.In Mammoth Mountain, USA, a large volume of CO 2 seeping fromvolcanic activity underground has been killing nearby trees.In industry the capture and compression of CO 2 is common practice.The risks associated with capturing CO 2 from the production processare well known and managed.The CO 2 can be transported in a gas or liquid form using pipelinesacross large distances. Leaks in pipelines can occur. There is a smallchance the leaked CO 2 will accumulate near the leakage point. TheUSA has a CO 2 pipeline system over 3000 km long which has been inuse for more than 20 years. There have been no accidents involvinginjuries or death.The injection of liquid-like CO 2 underground can cause microearthquakes similar to those caused by natural gas extraction.The CO 2 will enter the storage in a liquid-like form and will not return toa gaseous form as long as it is exposed to typical pressure andtemperature found deep underground. Here it will spread out throughtiny holes in the rock formation.Underground, liquid-like CO 2 may affect microbial populations which areimportant for ecosystem stability, affect nutrient supply, acidify groundwater and affect the movement of metals and/or other contaminants.If CO 2 leaks from the storage or injection point into the surrounding soil,there is a small chance it might acidify topsoil and/or impactgroundwater and possibly drinking water.If liquid-like CO 2 is stored appropriately, there is a very small chancethat small quantities of it would leak through poorly sealed wells, tearsand cracks in the caprock layer of the underground storage.Variable NamesInfoNyosInfoHotSpringInfoPaintfactoryInfoDomeInfoMtMammothInfoCaptureInfoTransportInfoCauseEarthquakeInfoLiquidLikeInfoUndergroundInfoLeakSoilInfoLeakCracks60 | Understanding how individuals perceive carbon dioxide