Jun 072013
 
Share
Print Friendly

Environmentalists warn allowing potentially radioactive material poses serious risks.

from Truthout

"As hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking,' has boomed in Ohio, Pennsylvania and nearby states in recent years, waste wells in Ohio have absorbed millions of barrels of liquid waste from oil-and-gas drilling operations in the region. Environmentalists and other observers are now calling Ohio a "dumping ground" for the fracking industry. Drillers now want to dump potentially radioactive waste mud, drill cuttings and frack sand from fracking operations in municipal landfills in the state, and environmentalists are up in arms.

"'I am not against fracking, I am against stupid,' said Julie Weatherinton-Rice, a senior scientist at Bennett & Williams Environmental Consultants and an adjunct professor at Ohio State University. 'I am seeing a lot a lot stupid and a lot of heads in the sand, and that's what's going to kill us.' …"

"Fracking produces both solid and liquid wastes. The liquid wastes, known as 'flowback' and 'brine' in industry lingo, are laced with chemicals and can be radioactive from materials that occur naturally in the underground shale formations where oil and gas is extracted. In Ohio, brine is typically pumped into underground injection wells. …"

Full story

About the SGNews news blog


The SGNews Blog is a frequently-updated list of Canadian and international news links of interest to progressive readers.

© Copyright 2013 the SGNews news blog, All rights Reserved. Written For: StraightGoods.ca
Share

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.