Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumFracking waste deemed too radioactive for hazardous-waste dump
from Grist:
A truck carrying fracking waste was quarantined and then sent back to where it came from after its contents triggered a radiation alarm at a Pennsylvania hazardous-waste landfill. The trucks load was nearly 10 times more radioactive than is permitted at the dump in South Huntingdon township.
The radiation came from radium 226, a naturally occurring material in the Marcellus Shale, which being fracked for natural gas in Pennsylvania and nearby states. Radium is a well known contaminant in fracking operations, writes Jeff McMahon at Forbes. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/news/radioactive-frack-waste-quarantined-at-pa-dump-turned-away/
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)I read it in our local paper too. People here have been fighting this facility for two decades without any success.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/3888698-74/radiation-max-poister#axzz2RQM885Ey
This site is a couple of miles from my house.
appleannie1
(5,044 posts)Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has a cozy relationship with shale gas drilling operations in the state. His rise to political power was largely bankrolled by Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy, and other big players in the natural gas industry. Since taking office, his administration has returned the favor in countless ways, including standing in the way of a severance tax on natural gas extraction and assessing only a tiny "impact fee" on drillers.
Given the Corbett administration's track record, this plan by the state Department of Environmental Protection is alarming.
The state Department of Environmental Protection has rescinded a Marcellus Shale wastewater treatment permit that would have allowed a New Jersey company to spread chemically contaminated salts on roadways, sidewalks and fields statewide. The DEP pulled the permit, issued in August to Integrated Water Technologies Inc., after admitting the required public notice about the permit did not accurately describe the permitted activity and the department hadn't fully considered the impact on the environment.
In other words, the DEP got caught trying to deceive the public about the permit. While the permit has been temporarily rescinded, the DEP intends to move forward with the plan after a new public comment period.