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Hydraulic Fracking is a source of radiation pollution, too

“We’ve known for a long time that there is radiation coming back in the wastewater”

Among the radioactive material often found in drilling wastes is radium 226, which can cause cancer, anemia and cataracts, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

DEP backtracks on radiation issue Times online,January 25, 2013  By Rachel Morgan  HARRISBURG — For months, the state Department of Environmental Protection denied that radiation in wastewater from natural gas drilling was an issue. On Thursday night, the state announced plans to study the effects of radiation in natural gas drilling wastewater.

An Increase in Radiation Monitoring for Fracking, NYT, Jan 25 13 By JON HURDLE Pennsylvania will step up its monitoring of naturally occurring radiation levels in water, rock cuttings and drilling wastes associated with oil and gas development in a yearlong study that will be peer-reviewed, the state’s environmental agency reports.

The study will also assess radiation levels in the pipes, well casings, storage tanks, treatment systems and trucks used by the natural gas industry, which has drilled thousands of wells in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale over the last five years….

Hydraulic fracturing, which involves injecting chemicals and water under enormous pressure into underground shale formations to extract gas or oil, got under way in Pennsylvania in 2008.

In New York, state officials are currently weighing whether to allow the drilling process to begin. The state’s health commissioner is conducting a review of whether the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation has adequately addressed potential impacts on public health.

Critics say radioactive materials that naturally occur deep underground are disturbed by drilling and fracking and come to the surface with natural and manmade chemicals in wastewater that can contaminate rivers and streams after it goes through treatment plants.

Myron Arnowitt, the Pennsylvania director for Clean Water Action,a national environmental group, welcomed the new study but said the radioactive content of drilling waste had been known for several years.We’ve known for a long time that there is radiation coming back in the wastewater,” Mr. Arnowitt said. “The fact that they are doing a broad study now indicates that they must have some new data.”….

Among the radioactive material often found in drilling wastes is radium 226, which can cause cancer, anemia and cataracts, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry…… http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/a-boost-in-radiation-monitoring-for-fracking/

January 26, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | radiation, Reference, USA, water