title: Detecting well casing leaks in Bangladesh using a salt spiking method.
abstract: We apply fluid-replacement logging in arsenic-contaminated regions of Bangladesh using a low-cost, down-well fluid conductivity logging tool to detect leaks in the cased section of wells. The fluid-conductivity tool is designed for the developing world: it is lightweight and easily transportable, operable by one person, and can be built for minimal cost. The fluid-replacement test identifies leaking casing by comparison of fluid conductivity logs collected before and after spiking the wellbore with a sodium chloride tracer. Here, we present results of fluid-replacement logging tests from both leaking and non-leaking casing from wells in Araihazar and Munshiganj, Bangladesh, and demonstrate that the low-cost tool produces measurements comparable to those obtained with a standard geophysical logging tool. Finally, we suggest well testing procedures and approaches for preventing casing leaks in Bangladesh and other developing countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Stahl
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: A B M
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Badruzzaman
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tarek
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Geen
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lane
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D001459:Bangladesh; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D014872:Water Movements; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*; D060986:Water Wells / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic