Analysis:
A Primer on the Radioactive Dangers Associated With the Hydrofracking Process in the Marcellus and Utica Shales in NY State.
James W. Ring, Winslow Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Hamilton College
March 13, 2012
The DEC has invited comments on its draft SGEIS on hydrofracking. From my perspective as a nuclear physicist there are two weaknesses in the current draft: first, the omission of discussion of radioactivity, which is only briefly mentioned in section 6, and, second, the omission of discussion of health problems associated with radioactivity that may very well ensue if fracking goes forward in NY State. This article is designed to call attention to radioactivity and its dangers in order to correct these weaknesses.
The first thing we need to understand is the properties of three radioactive isotopes, Radium 226, Radon 222 and Lead 210:
* Both Radium 226 and Radon 222 are radioactive and change (decay) by emitting alpha particles. As Radium 226 decays, it becomes Radon 222. As Radon 222 decays, it eventually becomes Lead 210, which also undergoes an alpha decay and finally becomes Lead 206, which is stable The half lives of these are respectively 1600 years, 3.8 days and 22 years. There are many other isotopes involved in this chain that begins with Uranium 238 and ends with Lead 206 but they don’t play as important a role as dangers to health.
* Different isotopes may be different chemicals. Radium dissolves in water. But in the tight rock of the shale beds it is a solid. Radon does not dissolve in water and is a gas even in the shale beds but unlike natural gas it is not flammable as it is chemically inert. On the other hand both Lead 210 and Lead 206 have the same chemistry but only 210 is radioactive.
* Radium, Radon and Lead are all health hazards, with Lead, whether 210 or 206, being a heavy metal that is toxic when ingested or its dust is breathed in. Radium, Radon and lead 210 because of alpha decay cause tissue damage particularly to the lungs when breathed in or when ingested. Next to smoking Radon is the most frequent and potent cause of lung cancer.
It is important to remember these things when we consider the process of hydrofracking in the Marcellus and Utica Shales in NY State:
* Marcellus Shale contains organic matter that in the hundreds of millions of years since it was laid down as sediment in the Devonian Era has by means of pressure and heat become natural gas, mostly methane but also some longer hydrocarbons like butane and propane. The gas is locked into the tight rock of the shale. Utica Shale is similar organic rich shale that is older and deeper than the Marcellus.
* Hydrofracking involves the use of millions of gallons of water pumped at high pressure into a well drilled down to the shale seam and then turned to run horizontally along that bed. This high-pressure fluid contains chemicals (some toxic) added to the water to make it slippery, and sand that is carried along with the fluid into the fractures caused by the high pressure process.
* When the wastewater is pumped out the sand caught in the fractures props them open and the gas is released.
Why do we need to think about Radium 226, Radon 222 and Lead 210 when considering the process of hydrofracking?
* The Marcellus Shale contains Radium 226 as has been shown by DEC tests of wastewater in 13 wells drilled in NYS. (See Appendix 13 of the DEC’s dSGEIS.)
* In 11 wells the Radium 226 greatly exceeded the EPA’s limit for safe discharge—in one case by 267 times that concentration.
*The inference then is that the Marcellus Shale contains high concentrations of Radium 226 in solid form and some of it will dissolve in the water used for the fracking process. The water will also contain Radon 222 because of the decay of Radium 226. Most of the Ra226, however, will not be dissolved as it will not be in contact with fluid but rather will be locked in as a solid in the unfractured shale. Rn222 as a gas will move as a gas through pores in the shale until it reaches a fracture where it will be free to escape up the wellbore.
We need to be concerned about this because:
* The Radon 222 will be released from the shale along with the natural gas.
* As the Radon 222 decays, Lead 210 will be formed in the pipes to the homes, which use natural gas.
* Radon will also be released in homes that use this natural gas because even though it has a short half-life of 3.8 days its concentration at the wellhead is high and the length of time in transit to NY homes will only be a day or two. Furthermore when the gas is turned on it will burn to do the cooking or heating bur Radon is not flammable. and thus will enter the indoor air. The EPA has set a limit of 4pCi/l for the concentration of indoor radon. Remedial action is required because of the danger of lung cancer if the concentration is greater than or equal to this level.
* Water treatment plants do not treat water for radioactivity. Thus the wastewater pumped out with high concentrations of Radium 226 will not be cleansed of this harmful isotope in a treatment plant. The EPA level for drinking water is 5pCi/l and the well wastewater tested as shown in Appendix 13 is generally 100 t0 1000 times this level. Note that if the concentration of Radon 222 is proportionally high, say 400pCI/l, then it will require 6 or 7 half lives of 3.8 days or 3 to 4 weeks to reduce the level to the EPA standard. And there will still be Lead 210 to worry about.
* Radium 226 in drinking water is a very real health hazard. When it gets inside the body and is carried by metabolic processes to vulnerable parts it destroys tissue and like radon in the lungs can cause cancer.
*Methane has been found in the well water of homes near a drill pad and thus it is very likely that there is also radon. Scientists from Duke have established that the methane is not of biologic origin and that its presence is correlated with distance from a well. (See Osborn et al., PNAS Early Edition, May 9, 2011.) Thus turning on a water faucet will also be turning on methane and radon gas, both of which are damaging in the indoor environment.
* Only in Appendix 13 of SGEIS is radioactivity testing reported and the results there are frighteningly high relative to EPA standards. The draft passes over these numbers drawing no cautionary conclusion from them and setting up no testing program to monitor this health hazard.
The conclusion is that, until we have measures to alleviate these health hazards and until we have regulations in place ready to be enforced, we should not allow Hydrofracking in New York State.
James W. Ring, Ph.D., 315-853-8307, jring@hamilton.edu
3926 Griffin Road
Clinton, NY 13323
James W. Ring, Winslow Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Hamilton College
March 13, 2012
The DEC has invited comments on its draft SGEIS on hydrofracking. From my perspective as a nuclear physicist there are two weaknesses in the current draft: first, the omission of discussion of radioactivity, which is only briefly mentioned in section 6, and, second, the omission of discussion of health problems associated with radioactivity that may very well ensue if fracking goes forward in NY State. This article is designed to call attention to radioactivity and its dangers in order to correct these weaknesses.
The first thing we need to understand is the properties of three radioactive isotopes, Radium 226, Radon 222 and Lead 210:
* Both Radium 226 and Radon 222 are radioactive and change (decay) by emitting alpha particles. As Radium 226 decays, it becomes Radon 222. As Radon 222 decays, it eventually becomes Lead 210, which also undergoes an alpha decay and finally becomes Lead 206, which is stable The half lives of these are respectively 1600 years, 3.8 days and 22 years. There are many other isotopes involved in this chain that begins with Uranium 238 and ends with Lead 206 but they don’t play as important a role as dangers to health.
* Different isotopes may be different chemicals. Radium dissolves in water. But in the tight rock of the shale beds it is a solid. Radon does not dissolve in water and is a gas even in the shale beds but unlike natural gas it is not flammable as it is chemically inert. On the other hand both Lead 210 and Lead 206 have the same chemistry but only 210 is radioactive.
* Radium, Radon and Lead are all health hazards, with Lead, whether 210 or 206, being a heavy metal that is toxic when ingested or its dust is breathed in. Radium, Radon and lead 210 because of alpha decay cause tissue damage particularly to the lungs when breathed in or when ingested. Next to smoking Radon is the most frequent and potent cause of lung cancer.
It is important to remember these things when we consider the process of hydrofracking in the Marcellus and Utica Shales in NY State:
* Marcellus Shale contains organic matter that in the hundreds of millions of years since it was laid down as sediment in the Devonian Era has by means of pressure and heat become natural gas, mostly methane but also some longer hydrocarbons like butane and propane. The gas is locked into the tight rock of the shale. Utica Shale is similar organic rich shale that is older and deeper than the Marcellus.
* Hydrofracking involves the use of millions of gallons of water pumped at high pressure into a well drilled down to the shale seam and then turned to run horizontally along that bed. This high-pressure fluid contains chemicals (some toxic) added to the water to make it slippery, and sand that is carried along with the fluid into the fractures caused by the high pressure process.
* When the wastewater is pumped out the sand caught in the fractures props them open and the gas is released.
Why do we need to think about Radium 226, Radon 222 and Lead 210 when considering the process of hydrofracking?
* The Marcellus Shale contains Radium 226 as has been shown by DEC tests of wastewater in 13 wells drilled in NYS. (See Appendix 13 of the DEC’s dSGEIS.)
* In 11 wells the Radium 226 greatly exceeded the EPA’s limit for safe discharge—in one case by 267 times that concentration.
*The inference then is that the Marcellus Shale contains high concentrations of Radium 226 in solid form and some of it will dissolve in the water used for the fracking process. The water will also contain Radon 222 because of the decay of Radium 226. Most of the Ra226, however, will not be dissolved as it will not be in contact with fluid but rather will be locked in as a solid in the unfractured shale. Rn222 as a gas will move as a gas through pores in the shale until it reaches a fracture where it will be free to escape up the wellbore.
We need to be concerned about this because:
* The Radon 222 will be released from the shale along with the natural gas.
* As the Radon 222 decays, Lead 210 will be formed in the pipes to the homes, which use natural gas.
* Radon will also be released in homes that use this natural gas because even though it has a short half-life of 3.8 days its concentration at the wellhead is high and the length of time in transit to NY homes will only be a day or two. Furthermore when the gas is turned on it will burn to do the cooking or heating bur Radon is not flammable. and thus will enter the indoor air. The EPA has set a limit of 4pCi/l for the concentration of indoor radon. Remedial action is required because of the danger of lung cancer if the concentration is greater than or equal to this level.
* Water treatment plants do not treat water for radioactivity. Thus the wastewater pumped out with high concentrations of Radium 226 will not be cleansed of this harmful isotope in a treatment plant. The EPA level for drinking water is 5pCi/l and the well wastewater tested as shown in Appendix 13 is generally 100 t0 1000 times this level. Note that if the concentration of Radon 222 is proportionally high, say 400pCI/l, then it will require 6 or 7 half lives of 3.8 days or 3 to 4 weeks to reduce the level to the EPA standard. And there will still be Lead 210 to worry about.
* Radium 226 in drinking water is a very real health hazard. When it gets inside the body and is carried by metabolic processes to vulnerable parts it destroys tissue and like radon in the lungs can cause cancer.
*Methane has been found in the well water of homes near a drill pad and thus it is very likely that there is also radon. Scientists from Duke have established that the methane is not of biologic origin and that its presence is correlated with distance from a well. (See Osborn et al., PNAS Early Edition, May 9, 2011.) Thus turning on a water faucet will also be turning on methane and radon gas, both of which are damaging in the indoor environment.
* Only in Appendix 13 of SGEIS is radioactivity testing reported and the results there are frighteningly high relative to EPA standards. The draft passes over these numbers drawing no cautionary conclusion from them and setting up no testing program to monitor this health hazard.
The conclusion is that, until we have measures to alleviate these health hazards and until we have regulations in place ready to be enforced, we should not allow Hydrofracking in New York State.
James W. Ring, Ph.D., 315-853-8307, jring@hamilton.edu
3926 Griffin Road
Clinton, NY 13323