The report says-- “DEP did not identify any levels of radiation associated with the landfill radium leachate investigation that raised concern for environmental protection or public health and safety.
“No results were observed that would require landfill action or suggest changes to engineering or operational controls.”
At the same time, the report goes on to say-- “While the radiochemistry results indicate that there is currently no concern with the levels of combined radium in untreated leachate, and therefore, based upon the NRC [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] developed limits, no current cause for concern with the levels of combined radium contained in discharges from subsequent treatment, it is important to recognize that more landfill leachate samples and radiochemistry analysis is warranted to generate additional data to confirm these initial findings.”
“DEP recommends at least 4 more quarters worth of radiochemistry analysis of untreated landfill leachate at all 49 landfills to generate additional results that provide a larger data set with the level of accuracy and certainty needed to more fully assess the levels of combined radium in landfill leachate and the levels of combined radium between landfills that do or do not accept oil and gas waste for disposal.
“The additional data will serve to inform future decisions to revisit landfill leachate sampling requirements, TENORM [naturally occurring radioactivity] disposal protocols and other operational or engineering controls that may prove necessary to protect public health, safety and the environment.”
DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley said in announcing the results of the study-- “Pennsylvania is a national leader when it comes to regulating radioactive materials in landfills.
“We were the first state in the nation to require monitoring of waste as it enters a landfill and this study is the result of rigorous testing of every landfill in the state, with secondary confirmatory analysis to make sure that the results were accurate.
“The takeaway here is that there is no risk to human health from radiation in landfill leachate.”
Radioactivity In Oil/Gas Waste
Radiation concerns are not a new issue for oil and gas drilling wastes, in fact the shale gas industry in Pennsylvania sends a small portion its drilling waste to be disposed of in low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities used by nuclear power plants and other facilities. Read more here.
From 2017 to 2022 shale gas operators sent a total of 911,006 cubic feet of their wastes to low-level radioactive waste facilities for disposal. Read more here.
Many of the radiation concerns about leachate are based on the real-life experiences of the Bell Vernon Municipal Authority wastewater plant that treated leachate from the Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill that accepted oil and gas wastes for disposal since 2010. [Read more here. Read more here.]
Bell Vernon was required to get a court order in 2019 to bar the landfill leachate from its treatment plant because it could not handle the contaminants, primarily from the oil and gas wastes.
Because of concerns about radioactivity in the leachate, when DEP issued a permit for an leachate evaporation system at the Westmoreland Landfill in January 2024, it included special conditions requiring the monitoring of radiation in the leachate and around the facility. Read more here.
The Landfill ended up surrendering the permit in September 2024. Read more here.
In July 2023, a University of Pittsburgh study reported on sampling downstream from outfalls of wastewater treatment plants that treat leachate from over 30 landfills accepting conventional and unconventional oil and gas drilling waste. Read more here.
The study found increases of two to four times the background level of radioactive radium in the sediment downstream of the outfalls than above the discharge points. Read more here.
Penn State research has traced radioactive radium from the outfall of an oil and gas wastewater treatment plant to freshwater mussels that make their home in streambeds. Read more here.
DEP’s Radiation Protection Program reported to DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council in 2021 it decontaminated one dedicated oil and gas wastewater treatment facility. Read more here.
There have also been incidents at other public wastewater treatment plants where they had to be decontaminated as a result of accepting radioactive oil and gas wastewater. Read more here.
Other incidents have occurred on shale gas drilling pads where storage tanks had to be decontaminated as a result of radioactive contamination. Read more here.
Studies have also shown road dumping drilling wastewater results in higher exposures to radiation when appropriate exposure scenarios are used. Read more here.
In 2000, Pennsylvania became the first state to require landfills to monitor incoming waste for radioactive materials.
DEP says landfills in Pennsylvania have conservative limits on the amount of radioactive waste they can accept.
These amounts will vary based on a number of factors, including how much radioactive material has already been accepted by a landfill.
In July 2021, DEP started to require radiological testing of leachate at landfills, which is the basis of this current study. Read more here.
First Results
This first report on landfill leachate tested leachate from all 49 landfills in Pennsylvania found that none had results that were over the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards of 600 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) for discharge from industrial facilities.
The study reports on two years (eight quarters) of sample results of raw, untreated leachate were analyzed using a technique called gamma spectroscopy to measure radioactivity in the raw leachate.
Once all samples were analyzed, a confirmatory analysis on one round of sample results was conducted using a technique called radiochemistry.
The analyses showed that none of the landfills in Pennsylvania exceeded the annual average of 600 pCi/L limit for discharges from industrial facilities established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and in most cases, the results were far lower.
Of the landfills sampled, only 11 had radium levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 5 pCi/L limit that is used for drinking water. Raw, untreated leachate is not considered drinking water and should never be consumed.
Radioactive material in landfills can come from various sources.
The most common sources are medical waste, primarily waste from cancer treatments, and oil and gas waste, which contains naturally occurring radioactive materials that are brought to the surface.
Another source of radioactivity in landfills is naturally occurring radon gas, which is odorless and colorless, and is present in high concentrations in some parts of Pennsylvania due to unique geological formations.
Next Steps
As noted, DEP is recommending an additional 4 quarters of sampling and analysis using radiochemistry to provide a larger data set.
DEP said the additional data will serve to inform future decisions to revisit landfill leachate sampling requirements and other operational or engineering controls if necessary to protect public health, safety and the environment.
Visit DEP’s Landfill Leachate Study webpage for more information.
Reaction
Charlie Palladino, Policy Advocate for Earthworks, said in a statement on the report--
"We will keep reviewing this report in the coming days and believe Pennsylvanians deserve the continued study of this possible risk that DEP has promised.
“While we appreciate DEP recommending further study on this issue using more accurate testing methods, we have some initial concerns about the assumptions made in the report.
“The report found 11 landfills where the leachate exceeded EPA drinking water standards for combined radium.
“DEP concludes these results are not concerning because the leachate will undergo further treatment before being released into PA waters.
“However, the discharge permits at these treatment facilities generally do not monitor for radium prior to release, so we have no way of confirming if the treatment is adequately removing radium from the wastewater.
“We still insist for the safety of all Pennsylvanians that requiring discharge permits to include testing for radium can both confirm the effectiveness of the treatment process and provide an early warning of unsafe contamination if the process fails.
“A 2023 study of wastewater treatment plants found higher levels of radioactive materials downstream from plants that processed leachate from landfills accepting oil and gas waste.
“So, while the DEP continues to study this issue, we recommend this commonsense guardrail to ensure there are no breakthrough contaminations of surface water in the meantime.
"We will be communicating that to the agency soon."
[Note: This post will be updated as more information becomes available.]
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[Posted: March 13, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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