US fracking creating radioactive crisis

The controversial oil and gas drilling process, known as hydraulic fracturing, is “spinning off thousands of tons of low-level radioactive trash” across the United States, a report reveals.

The drilling operations have led to a surge in illegal dumping at hundreds of sites in the country, creating a “legacy of radioactivity,” according to a report published by Bloomberg on Wednesday,

“We have many more wells, producing at an accelerating rate, and for each of them there’s a higher volume of waste,” Avner Vengosh, a professor of geochemistry at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, told Bloomberg.

Without proper handling, Vengosh said, “we are actually building up a legacy of radioactivity in hundreds of points where people have had leaks or spills around the country.”

Scientists debate the impact of small amounts of radiation on cancer risks, but the US Environmental Protection Agency says there’s not enough evidence to say what level is safe, the report said.

According to Bloomberg, the controversial drilling method, which has brought US oil and natural gas production to its highest levels in three decades, unlocks radium from rock formations far underground.

“Some states allow the contaminated material to be buried at the drill site. Some is hauled away, with varying requirements for tracking the waste. Some ends up in roadside ditches, garbage dumpsters or is taken to landfills in violation of local rules,” said Scott Radig, director of the North Dakota Health Department’s Division of Waste Management.

North Dakota wells may produce 27 tons a day of filter socks alone, Scott Radig, said, citing a private hauler’s estimate.

Pennsylvania, West Virginia and North Dakota are among the states revising limits for acceptable radiation levels and strengthening disposal rules.