Pa.: No red flags over radioactivity

Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa.

Tests of water in Pennsylvania downriver from treatment plants that handle wastewater from natural- gas drilling raised no red flags for radioactivity, the state Department of Environmental Protection said Monday.

All of the samples, taken in November through February, showed levels at or below normal, naturally occurring background levels of radioactivity, the agency said. All samples also showed levels below the federal drinking-water standard for Radium 226 and 228, it said.

In general, concentrations of naturally occurring radium in rock, soil and water usually are very low, although higher levels may exist in rock and soil of some areas, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Radium that is swallowed or inhaled can accumulate in a person’s bones. Long-term exposure increases the risk of developing several diseases, such as lymphoma, bone cancer and diseases that affect the formation of blood, the EPA said.

The state DEP, which also released actual test results Monday, did not say what the tests showed for other gas-drilling-related pollutants. A spokeswoman said the agency released the results as soon as they came back from the laboratory and were analyzed by staff.

Brian Dempsey, a professor of environmental engineering at Penn State University, reviewed the DEP’s results and said the concentrations of gross alpha radiation — and therefore, radium — seemed pretty low.

He said he still would like to know how precise the analysis was. But he cautioned that, had the results been elevated, it might be a mistake to assume drilling wastewater was solely responsible.