With the exponential increase of fracking and the improved science on the waste stream, the groups are demanding both reclassification of waste since it was initially classified in 1988, and the adequate testing of the waste that contains radioactive material from deep underground.
The letter was addressed to President Biden, EPA Administrator Michael Regan and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and argued that fracking waste should fall under regulation from Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and be re-classified as Hazardous.
The letter also asked the EPA to enforce a rigorous radiological testing regimen for the waste stream.
“We believe our federal agencies have the power to stop companies from introducing highly toxic and radioactive material into our drinking water systems,” stated Gillian Graber of Protect PT (Penn-Trafford), a community organization in southwestern PA. “The EPA has a mandate to ensure all Americans have clean air, land, and water. They need to act now to prevent more tragic consequences from fracking in our communities.”
"The rapid expansion of fracking coincides with a worrisome spike of rare childhood cancers, including dozens of cases of Ewing sarcoma, a rare and devastating bone cancer in children in southwestern Pennsylvania,” stated Dr. Ned Ketyer, President of Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania. "Doctors and parents are concerned that fracking pollution and radioactive, chemical-laden waste may be to blame. An extensive body of evidence now points to the realization that fracking cannot operate safely anywhere."
The letter states that “produced” waste from oil and gas operations contains toxic metals and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) such as arsenic, barium, hydrogen sulfide and benzene, which return in the waste stream.
Petroleum distillates, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and countless chemicals that are kept secret from the public are also present in the waste, which is often sent to landfills and injected underground.
“Last year, drillers in Pennsylvania alone generated 2.6 billion gallons of liquid oil and gas waste and 1.4 million tons of solid waste,” said Matt Kelso of FracTracker Alliance, and a resident of Plum Borough where an injection well was recently installed. “The waste disposal well in my community was only in operation for a few months before regulators received complaints about a fouled water supply. Regulators had not even fully investigated the complaint before the company was already seeking approval for a second waste injection well on the same site.”
Some waste samples from fracking in the Marcellus Shale show Radium-226 in excess of 18,000 picocuries per liter, or 3,600 times EPA’s drinking water standard.
The lack of clear federal guidance has allowed the states to essentially ignore this serious health threat altogether, leaving states to fend for themselves. Industry also seeks to create and gain approval for commercial products with its waste such as swimming pool salts, ice melting materials and brine waste for spreading on roads.
“Our federal leaders must recognize the threats to our health from oil and gas waste, which is made up of radioactive and PFAS chemicals that perpetuate harms over many years,” stated Matthew Mehalik of the Breathe Project in Pittsburgh, PA. “Our Attorney General has shown that our state and local governments have failed to protect our communities from this industry. The time has come for urgent federal intervention to prevent further damage to our air, water, and public health from fracking waste.”
The letter notes, “[W]e now know that so-called “produced” water contains a variety of highly toxic metals such as arsenic or barium and volatile compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and benzene, which are known to cause serious injury, cancer, or both.
“Concentrations vary widely, not only from the various target formations, but often within a single formation.
“We also know that there are a variety of toxic chemicals injected into oil and gas wells, many of which return in the waste stream. Data from FracFocus, the industry’s chemical registry, indicate that these include petroleum distillates, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and countless chemicals that are kept secret from the public.
“With this knowledge, it is clear that these waste streams need to be treated as hazardous waste, and yet they are frequently converted into commercial products such as pool salt and ice melt, spread along roadsides even in sensitive watersheds, and injected under our land, water and homes, potentially damaging drinking water supplies permanently.”
In 2016, a number of groups filed a lawsuit against EPA for its failure to review and, if appropriate, revise the standards applicable to oil and gas wastes. Even though RCRA requires EPA to review these standards every three years, EPA had not done so in over 30 years—since the 1988 determination.
The parties reached a consent decree under which EPA would review the standards on a schedule.
In April 2019, Trump’s EPA determined that revisions to the generic and outdated standards were not necessary, even though fracking had vastly changed the industry over the previous decade and EPA had admitted back in 1988 that tailored regulations for oil and gas wastes were necessary.
In a regulatory sleight of hand, EPA relied on the fact that it did not have the necessary information, even though the agency made the earlier decision not to conduct information collection in support of its review.
The letter asks EPA to take a leading role in the classification of oil and gas waste streams and disposal in a manner that does not harm the environment and public health.
The science on environmental and human health impacts of the constituents of oil and gas waste has advanced substantially over the decades since RCRA was passed, and waste volumes have increased exponentially.
Click Here for a copy of the letter.
NewsClips:
-- News5 Cleveland: Ohio Plans To Stop Using Deicer AquaSalina Made From Oil & Gas Drilling Wastewater
-- Environmental Health News: Should Oil & Gas Companies Be Exempt From PA’s Hazardous Waste Laws?
Related Articles This Week:
-- DEP Citizens Advisory Council Meets Oct. 19 To Hear Report On Radiation Decontamination Of Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facilities, Reactors, Waste Sites
Related Articles:
-- Dangers Posed By Oil & Gas Drilling Wastes, Abandoned Wells + Siri Lawson’s Story From Warren County
-- DEP To Propose Regulations Allowing Road Dumping Of Conventional Drilling Wastewater Across PA
[Posted: October 4, 2021] PA Environment Digest
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