sprinkling fracking/conventional wastewater "brine" on roads has spread carcinogenic radium

http://www.ehn.org/fracking-wastewater-spread-on-roads-2573426742.a...

"Wastewater from the oil and gas industry that's being spread on roadways to control dust and ice in at least 13 states, including Pennsylvania, poses a threat to the environment and to human health, according to a study released this week.

The wastewater, commonly referred to as "brine," contains high levels of salt along with lead, radium, organic contaminants and other heavy metals in concentrations above safe levels for drinking water. Researchers have found that nearly all of the metals from brine leach out from roadways when it rains, and they speculate that the pollutants could wind up in nearby bodies of water and find their way into local drinking water sources. ...

Radium is radioactive and has been linked to bone marrow and lung cancer, while the health impacts of lead exposure range from lowered IQ levels and behavioral issues in children to kidney, brain and central nervous system damage in adults."

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Permalink Reply by william Allen. Ladd on June 2, 2018 at 3:02am

Possibly you are right Heckbert.

With fewer people we will need fewer miles of roads.   Maybe fewer babies need to be born and better contraceptive methods should be put into practice. 

Mother nature has various ways of controlling over population of every specie including the human specie!

Granddad Ladd

Permalink Reply by Paul Heckbert on June 2, 2018 at 11:34am

The radioactive-radium-spread-on-roads story was also covered on local radio program, The Allegheny Front. Two minutes of audio:

https://www.alleghenyfront.org/study-finds-health-threats-from-oil-...

Permalink Reply by william Allen. Ladd on June 3, 2018 at 10:47am

Why cant sand be used instead of  brine?

Granddad Ladd

Permalink Reply by Jed Clampett on June 8, 2018 at 4:41am

Sand might help with winter traction, but brine is useful in both winter and summer.  in winter the salt in/on the dirt/gravel road melts ice (but also softens road, limiting heavy truck use), in the summer, the salt absorbs moisture from the air reducing dust.  most of the brine that is used is from shallow wells - it is sea water (salt water seas don't stop at the beach), not the fracing flowback waste.

Permalink Reply by william Allen. Ladd on June 4, 2018 at 2:46am

Maybe he is working on an alternative gas plan substitute O. T.  

A thought just occurred to me but making insulting comments about another person is not my style.

EEEERRRRRP!  Excuse me. A touch of indigestion!

Granddad Ladd

Permalink Reply by Paul Heckbert on June 3, 2018 at 2:42pm

The gas industry should stop calling this stuff "brine". Nobody would want to brine a turkey in that.

https://www.marthastewart.com/274271/how-to-brine-a-turkey

They should call it what it is, drilling wastewater, or fracking wastewater.

Also, related news story from the American Chemical Society:

Damping Roads May Do More Harm Than Good

https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/damping-ro...

Permalink Reply by Jim Peaco on June 4, 2018 at 2:58am

Radium gives off radiation in the form of an alpha particle.  Its the same as a helium atom with a ++ charge.  It cannot penetrate the dead layer of your skin and is found naturally occurring.  You would have to eat it for it to damage your cells.

Maybe you should concern your self with the electromagnetic whirlpool that you live in.  It is much like very low power microwave oven that is cooking you 24/7.

Just another Low Energy, Low IQ article by the resistance.

Permalink Reply by william Allen. Ladd on June 4, 2018 at 6:08am

Maybe our friend Paul will some day come up with an important valid posting.  I always try to find something valid in his negative arguments concerning fracking.  At least he does post when so many others seem not to be bothered.  This fracking in our area is very important. We do need input even it might be of a negative nature.

Granddad Ladd

Permalink Reply by bo boboski on June 4, 2018 at 6:42am

True, if people just quit posting,most will just quit even looking and this site will fade away. It's nice ,if nothing else, to have some "treehuggers" posting so we can bash them!  They want ice free roads and cheap gasoline/heating fuels,but don't believe in fracking technology.

Permalink Reply by Coffeeguyzz on June 4, 2018 at 1:33pm

Mr. Ladd

The fracking in your area is more than very important.

It is upending much of the global status in myriad and profound ways that will reverberate for generations to come.

The new aluminum smelter(s) opening up in Kentucky (first new one in over 40 years), the massive Foxxcon plant in Wisconsin, the rush of foreign manufacturers into Tennessee, South Carolina, Ohio and others are just the start of an industrial renaissance that will rejuvenate your region for decades.

Your local producers (gas E&PS) will be battling with the surge of associated gas coming out of Oklahoma and Texas, but the sheer size of both the Mighty Marcellus and Utica formations ensure that development will extend out over a century.

Yes, over 100 years, and that includes the anticipated transition of widespread acceptance of natgas in the transportation sector.

Advances in Adsorbed Natural Gas combined with the WTI/HH spread provide VERY strong incentives to move to natgas for vehicles. (Already transitioning with busses/trucks).

Paul Heckbert is amongst the diminishing - yet increasingly frantic - cohort that is desperate to stave off hydrocarbon expansion in favor of their preposterous wind/solar applications.

Europe and Australia are reeling from the catastrophic cost of electricity that is devastating their industrial potential while impoverishing their residents.

Yes, certainly Mr. Heckbert's posts can provide opportunity for education and the ongoing discussions.

You ALL in the Appalachian Basin region would do well for your families to vigorously engage with your neighbors so as to ensure they recognize the opportunities this Shale Revolution has wrought.

Permalink Reply by Jim Peaco on June 4, 2018 at 8:24am
Oh, OK. Don't let me ruin anybody's fun. I read articles like these and my eye roll isn't shared. Radon becomes stable in 3.82 days as it decomposes into a non-radioactive element.
The three factors in dealing with radiation are time, distance, and shielding. Did I mention that water molecules are excellent shields?
Temperature inversions can trap naturally occurring Radon close to the earths surface and increase our exposure.
A well insulated home in the winter is where we get most of our Radon exposure from. Open those windows, air out that house.
One of the experiments in space was to grow bacteria in a radiation free environment, the bacteria died. They concluded that all living things on earth require some radiation to live. Try getting your naturally occurring vitamin D3 without getting any radiation.
And what is it with these last names that fit? I worked with a lazy bum and his last name was Hurlbutt....lol
Permalink Reply by Coffeeguyzz on June 4, 2018 at 1:06pm

... and the average banana contains .1 micro sieverts of radiation in the form of potassium 40.

Hence, many ultra low level instances of radiation - naturally occurring or man made - are described in units of BED ... Banana Equivalent Doses.

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