Shales are radioactive in Illinois

Groups warn of radiation exposure associated with fracking

From an Article by Barb Eidlin, The Southern, Carbondale, Illinois, June 22, 2017

CARBONDALE — Concerned citizens and opponents of the controversial oil and gas extraction method commonly known as fracking met Wednesday night at the Carbondale Township offices to discuss the risks of radioactive exposure associated with the extraction process.

The gathering was prompted by the recent application for a High Volume Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing permit applied for by Woolsey Operating Company, LLC, HVHHF.

The event was hosted by Illinois Green Party and Southern Illinoisans Against Fracking.

Rich Whitney, Vice-Chairman of the Illinois Green Party and S.A.F.E Steering committee member for said that to the best of their ability, the groups had determined that the location of the well site proposed by the permit is a few miles northwest of Enfield in White County.

Whitney said that the extraction process is a potential public health hazard.

“In addition to the chemical contamination of the environment and the proven link between earthquakes and injecting waste fluids deep underground under high pressure, the process also comes with a risk of exposure to radioactive elements.”

According to Whitney, studies show that naturally occurring radioactive materials are present in unusually high quantities in Southern Illinois shale.

During drilling and fracking operations, when elements like radium, uranium, thorium or other radioactive elements are present in the sediment or rocks that contain oil and gas, they will be brought to the surface as drill cuttings or in the drilling fluid, known as drilling mud, circulating up from the drill bit.

Whitney cited a 2014 study published in the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives that shows that consuming radium in drinking water can cause lymphoma, bone cancer and leukemia. It also states that radium also emits gamma rays which raise cancer risk from external exposures.

A 1997 U.S. Geological Survey of oilfield production sites in White county found that 7 out of 9 of the sites they surveyed were judged to have “high radioactivity.”

“If you look at what has been happening in recent years in Pennsylvania and North Dakota, the radioactive contamination coming out of those wells has been a disaster for those communities,” Whitney said.

According to Whitney, a 2006 Duke University study shows that radioactive contaminates have “gotten all over” the well sites and some of the waste disposal sites.

Additionally, he said, illegal dumping has led to radioactive contaminates in municipal dump sites. “That’s not to say that this is going to happen in Illinois, but the company has a foot in the door, and so people need to start educating themselves. We don’t want Illinois to be turned into a state wide Superfund site.”

Whitney also said that radioactive oil and gas waste is exempt from most federal regulations on radioactivity, and that the regulations adopted in Illinois roughly three years ago are mainly concerned with testing for radioactivity.

They say nothing about what companies must do if hazardous levels of radioactive emissions are detected.

Additionally, Whitney said, there is no regulation to test work areas for levels of radioactivity that would call for OSHA standards of occupational safety, and no provision for workers to wear radiation detection badges or devices.

Whitney said that the volume of waste from fracking will be far higher that from conventional drilling sites since the length of the wells can be over a mile long.

This means that hazardous radioactive elements being brought to the surface will also be proportionally greater that in conventional drilling.

If a Woolsey’s permit is approved, a public hearing will be held at the Enfield United Methodist Church Family Life Center, Corner of West Main and South Jennette St., in Enfield from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm on July 5, 2017.

Information about the organizations opposing fracking can be found at the Shawnee Green Party Facebook page, or the S.A.F.E. website at:

Don’t Fracture Illinois