Radioactivity in fracking wastewater

radio discussion of radioactivity in fracking wastewater:

http://harryshearer.com/le-shows/may-24-2015/

and an article in the journal "Science":

"Study raises questions about measuring radioactivity in fracking wastewater"

http://news.sciencemag.org/chemistry/2015/04/study-raises-questions...

It concludes: Commonly used testing methods may underestimate the total radioactivity of wastewater produced by gas wells that use hydraulic fracturing.

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Permalink Reply by craig on May 26, 2015 at 5:01am

So it has now come to Re-hashing old arguments by our in house enviro-weenie still trying to derail the gas industry.

Permalink Reply by MJ on May 26, 2015 at 12:27pm

Mr Squinty just likes to get a rise every once in a while.  He is convinced of everything he hashes and rehashes about the evils of fracking.  This is the new "greeny way".  None of them even realize how they have been programmed since they were young.  Fun stuff either way!

Permalink Reply by David Perotto on May 26, 2015 at 1:13pm

Thank God he posted, I almost drank ten ounces of this stuff....

Permalink Reply by Jack Young on May 27, 2015 at 4:49am

I'm sure this guy thinks he's doing something useful by posting all this, but in the end he's just a pawn for the anti-gas movement. You can find papers by anti-gas researchers on any topic you like, but you can also find papers by more experienced researchers who are supportive of the industry on the same topics! But this guy made up his mind early, I guess. He only posts the stuff that matches his pre-conceived notions.

I've read lots of research on radioactivity in water over the years - it's a major problem in water wells in many parts of the country. (And I have a four volume report done on frack water in PA around 1978 in the basement.) Yet folks everywhere deal with it quite easily, and they're actually drinking the ground water that's impacted while frack water is kept separate until it's been cleaned up. If you want to see how this issue is handled elsewhere, Vermont is a good place to start. Lots of radioactivity in the ground water there.

This issue doesn't worry me much.

Permalink Reply by MJ on May 27, 2015 at 5:41am
0ym9x5ag7ury2Permalink Reply by 0ym9x5ag7ury2 on May 27, 2015 at 12:16pm

Paul,

     I read one case where several women were complaining about radioactivity in frack water being used to spray the roads for ice control. The court told them they could no longer discuss this topic.

Well there is radioactivity in frack water. The only way to remove the radioactivity is to use resin beds that capture radioactive materials such as cobalt by ion exchange, as we did at the Nuclear Electric Generation stations before dumping waste water to the local rivers.

I thought it was in poor taste for the court to tell the women they were not allowed to discuss the truth.

Permalink Reply by MJ on May 27, 2015 at 1:25pm

Ron,

Frack water has been sprayed on road surfaces for decades and dumped into streams and rivers for longer than either of us has been alive.  I am not saying this has been or is right, but the sense of WTF? is really uncalled for.  Where do you begin to fix all that is and has been done wrong?  By attacking something that can save our country and get us independent of foreign oil?  I do not get people like Mr Heckbert - I will not address him as Dr. because I think he full of conservative crap and is a perfect example of what is mostly wrong with the way we look at deal with things these days.

0ym9x5ag7ury2Permalink Reply by 0ym9x5ag7ury2 on May 28, 2015 at 4:56am

MJ,

     I'm shocked that the GMS.com editors would let you use your abreviation.

Get some sleep, you want to be alert when on the drilling rig Friend.

Permalink Reply by JLG on May 28, 2015 at 6:59am

Were they spreading flowback water from a fracked well (frack water) on the road, or were they spreading brine water from a natural well (un-fracked well) onto the road?  Frack water has to be taken to a treatment facility or an injection well and can't be spread on the road.  Brine water, which is naturally present in different formations, often flows up the well bore and is used as a dust control agent for roads where townships/municipalities permit.  Which has the same effect as spreading a mix of calcium chloride on the road for the same application and you can buy that at Lowes, the only difference is that the brine water is a solution of salt and and other naturally occurring minerals/compounds, and the calcium chloride that you buy at lowes is a solid (which absorbs moisture out of the air and rain and eventually turns into a liquid).

As for dumping 'frack water' into streams and rivers, show me an example where and OG company legally did this.  I admit some companies may do this, knowingly breaking the law, but it's not permitted.  PA will hit you with an NOV if you have storm water runoff from your pad entering a stream/river, so they most certainly would not allow for the dumping of 'frack waste water' into a stream.

Permalink Reply by Dan on May 27, 2015 at 2:25pm
If frack water or drill mud hits a certain mark for radiation then it should be dealt with in a specific manor as deemed safe today. Bashing the industry only takes away from identifying and holding the ones who ignor standards intentionally. If you have any petro-environmental knowledge use it to help make industries safer and more effective, not quoting mediocor papers written for a funding source or a school project.

What ever came of the acetone fume that you linked to the Burgetstown stip mall alleged illnesses? Was it finger nail polish or industrial polluting?
Permalink Reply by Kyle Nuttall on May 28, 2015 at 8:38am

The sample size was 52 gallons of water taken from one well.  That's not much of a sample size.

Permalink Reply by Barry D on May 30, 2015 at 2:54am

Kyle,

Exactly, this was not a scientific study.

Plus, if you know the true nature of the radioactive substances found underground, you know that we face far more dangerous radioactive elements here on the surface. We are exposed every day to far more radioactivity from naturally occurring elements here on the surface (NORMAL) primarily the sun.

Not all radioactive particles are the same, Alpha, Gamma, Beta. There is also dosage rate. The human body is capable of absorbing certain types of radiation safely depending upon the rate of exposure (X  RAYS etc.)

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