radioactivity
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Opinion: Radioactive risks and worker safety in the oil and gas industry
Justin Nobel's new book reveals the extensive radioactive contamination in the U.S. oil and gas industry and its impact on workers.
In short:
- Nobel's investigations uncover the use of radioactive oilfield waste in household products and its pervasive contamination.
- Workers are exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, handling waste with inadequate protection, and unknowingly bringing contaminants into their homes.
- Regulatory gaps allow the oil and gas industry to treat highly radioactive waste as nonhazardous, posing serious public and environmental health risks.
Key quote:
"With fossil fuels, essentially what you are doing is taking an underground radioactive reservoir and bringing it up to the surface where it can interact with people and the environment."
— Marco Kaltofen, nuclear forensics scientist
Why this matters:
Prolonged exposure to radioactive materials can escalate the risk of cancer, and protective measures for workers are not just recommended, they are a dire necessity. Yet regulation and oversight can be as slippery as the substances being drilled from the earth.
In 2023, 800,000 tons of radioactive waste from Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry went “missing.”
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