Radioactivity Found in PA Creek, Illegal Fracking Waste Suspected

"Recently released testing results in western Pennsylvania, upstream from Pittsburgh, reveal evidence of radioactive contamination in water flowing from an abandoned mine. Experts say that the radioactive materials may have come from illegal dumping of shale fracking wastewater.

Regulators had previously found radioactivity levels that exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) drinking water standards more than 60-fold in waters in the same area, which is roughly three miles upstream from a drinking water intake, but those test results were only made public after a local environmental group obtained them through open records requests.

At the end of July, the West Virginia Water Research Institute released the results from its tests of water flowing from an abandoned coal mine."

Sharon Kelly reports for DeSmog Blog August 20, 2015.