Suburban community calls out local facility after discovering radioactive particles in drinking water: 'The genie is out of the bottle'
Residents in Pennsylvania are calling out a local waste management facility after radioactive particles were found in their drinking water, but their fight may just be beginning.
What's happening?
In 2013, after his neighbors in Rostraver started getting sick and his plants started dying, Jack Kruell wanted to determine if there was radiation present. Tests over the next 10 years confirmed his water contained high levels of radiation, toxic heavy metals, and other contaminants, as reported by PublicSource.
In early March, the outlet explained that the nearby Westmoreland Sanitary has frequently failed to follow best practices for disposing of solid fracking waste, which it has accepted since 2010. Inspection reports reveal that piles of waste have bled into rivers.
The landfill, whose parent company is Noble Environment, is one of 32 in Pennsylvania that allow solid waste from fracking to be sent to their grounds.
Duquesne University director of environmental research John Stolz "found telltale isotopes of radioactive radium" in a tributary of Monongahela River around the same time, per PublicSource, which noted that water would have been used for drinking in previous years. Stolz determined the presence of the radiation could only have been caused by the landfill.
Why is this concerning?
Fracking, a method of extracting dirty energy such as gas and oil, is a highly polluting process. The chemicals released by it have been linked to severe diseases, including cancer, reproductive issues, and liver damage, as detailed by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
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While Westmoreland Sanitary isn't directly involved in the fracking itself, the reported pattern of improper management could have a long-term impact. The landfill is now testing a new method of treating the water, but residents in the area believe their health is still at risk.
"The genie is out of the bottle," Kruell told PublicSource.
Meanwhile, Ben Wallace, the chief operating officer of Penneco Environmental Solutions — an oil and gas waste disposal specialist — seemed to downplay the issue, raising questions about how things might proceed.
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"I believe the industry does a really good job [responsibly dealing with waste]," he told the outlet. "I don't view it as a problem. We all use energy. We're all codependent on the carbon economy. Every single thing we touch is made out of plastic."
Westmoreland Sanitary and Noble Environment both declined to respond to PublicSource's request for comment.
What is being done about this?
As of March, Sen. Katie Muth (D-Chester) has a proposal in front of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee that seeks to reclassify solid waste from fracking as "hazardous" so that stricter disposal rules can be adopted in the state.
Fracking practices are known to negatively impact health, but supporting candidates or brands that advocate for cleaner practices can help keep corporations or agencies accountable.
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