"Researchers detected increased radioactivity in mussels downstream of oil and gas wastewater discharge points, raising concerns about effects up the food chain."

"Sixty-two years ago, Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” connected disappearing populations of bald eagles to the presence of the pesticide DDT in the birds’ food chain. Because bald eagles are apex predators, their dose of the toxic chemical was magnified and became fatal to their ability to reproduce.  

Now, a study from scientists at Penn State University has illustrated another source of contamination that could be affecting the food chain of bald eagles in Pennsylvania, where they were reintroduced in 1983. Researchers tested freshwater mussels near a waste treatment facility in Franklin, Pennsylvania, that had historically discharged oil and gas wastewater into the Allegheny River but no longer does so.

Compared to samples collected upstream of the facility, the researchers found elevated levels of the radioactive element radium in the animals’ soft tissue, their hard shells and the streambed sediment where they live. The results were consistent with the chemical signature of wastewater produced from drilling in the Marcellus, the shale formation beneath Pennsylvania that has fueled the fracking boom."

Kiley Bense reports for Inside Climate News January 2, 2025. [2]