Radioactivity

Radioactivity is the term used for the atomic particles by unstable elements as they decay into other 

elements. The intensity of radiation depends upon the speed at which the element in question decays, and 

the energy level of atomic particle produced.

Radioactivity is dangerous even at low levels because the emitted particles can cause damaging mutations 

in the DNA of cells. If the damage occurs to genes regulating cell division the result can be uncontrolled 

cell growth, producing cancer. Radioactivity cannot be seen, felt or otherwise detected by humans 

without special instruments, but can nonetheless be extremely damaging. There is no safe level of 

radioactivity, as damage is proportional to dose, and exposure is cumulative. Humans are constantly 

exposed to low level radiation in the environment, and any further exposure simply adds to the overall 

burden. There is no truly safe level of exposure: permitted levels of exposure are simply based on costbenefit analyses.

It is important to realize that radioactive wastes cannot be decontaminated; they are radioactive essentially 

for ever, and will expose anyone near them or who breathes in the radioactive dust or gas. The only 

“treatment” is to remove the solids (if they can be captured) and transport them, by road, to a radioactive 

materials holding site. The only treatment for radioactive gas is ventilation. The continuous release of 

radioactivity from solids, liquids or gas means continuous exposure.

Radium and Radon

The Marcellus shale is known to contain radium, which is a product of the decay of uranium. Radium 

(

226Ra) is extremely radioactive, being over one million times more radioactive than the same amount of 

uranium. Its decay occurs in seven stages producing three kinds of radiation: alpha particles, beta 

particles, and gamma rays, as it decays to successive products, which are themselves radioactive elements.

The first product is the element radon, which is a dangerously-radioactive heavy gas, and the later 

products are radioactive solids. Radium loses about 1% of its activity in 25 years, being transformed into 

elements with atomic weights each a little lower than its predecessor, with lead being the final product of 

disintegration.

Radium is, chemically, an alkaline earth metal, as is calcium. Since radium is chemically similar to 

calcium, it has the potential to cause great harm by replacing calcium in bones. This is because radium is 

treated as calcium by the body, and deposited in the bones, where the radioactivity degrades marrow and 

can mutate bone cells. Inhalation, ingestion or body exposure to radium can cause cancer and other 

disorders.

Radon is a highly radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless “noble” (or chemically un-reactive) gas, 

occurring naturally as the decay product of radium. Radon is responsible for the majority of the public 

exposure to ionizing radiation. It is often the single largest contributor to an individual's background 

radiation dose, and is the most variable from location to location. Radon gas from natural sources can 

accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as attics, and basements. It can also be found in 

some spring waters.

Epidemiological evidence shows a clear link between breathing high concentrations of radon and

incidence of lung cancer. Thus radon is considered a significant contaminant that affects indoor air 

quality. According to the EPA, radon is estimated to cause 21000 deaths per year in the US; radon is the 

second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking.

Radon emanates naturally from the ground, particularly in regions with soils containing granite or shale, 

which have a higher concentration of uranium. It usually migrates freely through faults and fragmented 

soils, and may accumulate in caves or water. Gas from a gas well often contains radon. The radon decays 

to form solid radioactive elements, which form coatings on the inside of pipework, so that used pipework 

is frequently radioactive.
In the open air, radon concentration ranges from 27 to 2700 pCi per cubic yard of air (one picoCurie (pCi)

is a unit of radiation representing 2.2 atomic disintegration per minute). Typical domestic exposure to 

radon in homes is approximately 2700 pCi per cubic yard of air; in ill-aerated houses over radioactive 

rocks its concentration can climb to 27,000 pCi per cubic yard. The EPA recommends that homes should

be fixed if an occupant's long-term exposure will average 4000 pCi per cubic yard or more, the equivalent 

to roughly 200 chest x-rays per year. The limits do not correspond to a known threshold of biological 

effect, but are determined solely by a cost-efficiency analysis. 

Radioactivity in the Marcellus Shale

In the gas industry, radioactive materials known as “Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials” or

NORM, can be brought to the surface through gas wells. This can happen when fluids that are present in 

the radioactive formation are pumped out of the well or from radon in the natural gas. It must be 

emphasized that such radioactive materials are not normal just because they are naturally occurring at 

3000 feet below the surface; on the surface they are not part of the normal environment and should be 

treated as hazardous. Because the radioactive materials become concentrated on gas-field equipment, the 

highest risk of exposure to oil and gas NORM is to workers who cut and ream oilfield pipe, remove solids

from tanks and pits, and refurbish gas processing equipment.

The Marcellus shale is considered to be “highly radioactive.” In Onondaga County, NY, where the 

Marcellus shale is close to the surface, all of the homes underlain by Marcellus shale had indoor air levels 

of radon above EPA’s “action level”, with the average concentration in being more than twice that level. 

The Pennsylvania Bureau of Oil and Gas Management (BOGM) and Bureau of Radiation Protection 

found that a concentration of radon in a gas sample was 1000 times the above level. The New York 

Department of Environmental Conservation found 13 samples of returned drilling wastewater to contain 

levels of radium as high as 267 times the limit for discharge into the environment, and thousands of times 

the limit for people to drink.

In the DEC dsGEIS, radioactivity receives detailed attention only in section 5.2.4.2 where radioactivity 

measurements are reported in Table 5-2 for various rock core samples, and in section 6.8. The 

radioactivity for the rock samples is claimed to be background, but calculations show that it is well above 

background (see footnote). It also reports that the EPA measured values of radioactivity for flow-back 

water of 9,000 picocuries per liter (pCi/l), or 9,000 times the natural radiation in normal well water (see 

Eisenbud & Gesell), and >100,000 picocuries per gram (pCi/g) for pipe and tank scale, or about 1000 times

the radiation level given off by normal concrete (see Radioactivity in Nature). Given that samples measured 

were only 1 gram (1/28 of an ounce in size) or 1 liter (close to 1 quart) the conclusion can be made that 

the radiation from tons of removed shale or thousands of gallons of water would be proportionally higher, 

and thus significantly radioactive. A major concern is the radioactivity of recovered gas, but there is no 

mention of radon in the dsGEIS beyond noting that it is a product of radium decay. Given that radon is of 

major concern this is a major deficiency of the dsGEIS.

As the Marcellus shale is developed it will be important to understand the radioactivity of the various 

waste streams that are produced (e.g., returning water, gas, pit/tank sludge and drill cuttings). During 

drilling there may be a large volume of radioactive shale rock removed in the drill cuttings, especially 

from horizontally drilled wells. It is therefore imperative that drilling wastes not be disposed of, by either 

on-site burial or landspreading, in areas that are located close to residences or public facilities, or where it 

can contaminate water supplies. Radioactive wastes must be taken to an appropriate facility that is 

designed to handle radioactive waste. Measures must also be taken to ensure that the radioactive gas does 

not leak from wellheads, or that releases do not occur through generated fractures in the overlying rock, or 

from well casings, into the water supply. 

"The findings [of high-level radioactivity in the Marcellus shale] have several implications: The energy 

industry [must] face stiffer regulations ... Companies [will] need to license their waste handlers and test 

their workers for radioactive exposure, and possibly ship waste across the country [for disposal]. And the 
state [will] have to sort out how its laws for radioactive waste might apply to drilling and how the waste 

could impact water supplies and the environment."(Lustgarten).

The town of Dryden recommends to the DEC:

That no removal of fluids that have been injected into the Marcellus shale be permitted until there is a 

thorough analysis of the levels of radioactivity in both the fluids and the gas contained therein in every 

well, and all potential withdrawals of liquid or gas be subject to the rules of the EPA, and that surveys be 

conducted monthly thereafter.

Given that, under New York State regulations, any substance emitting twice the background radiation 

should treated as radioactive, and disposed only in approved and licensed facilities, we request that if such 

levels of radioactivity are detected:

1) All such radioactive fluids and the solids therein are not permitted to be disposed of on or in the 

locality of the site and must be transported to approved and licensed radioactive-waste handing facilities.

2) That all workers dealing with any solid or fluid exceeding twice background be trained and licensed to 

handle radioactive materials.

3) Given that radioactive deposits can accumulate on the inside of pipes and all equipment involved in gas 

handling that all such pipes and equipment be monitored for radioactivity and if found to have a level 

exceeding twice background that they must not be left on or in the vicinity of the drilling site but must be 

transported to an approved and licensed radioactive waste handling facility when no longer in use.

4) Given that radon, from the actual well, the gas, or potential fractures in the rock, in homes and other 

buildings is of major concern, that all homes and buildings within one mile of the drill site are surveyed 

for radon prior to drilling, and annually thereafter, and that should the level of radon exceed the EPA 

action level the gas company shall either remedy the problem (e.g., by sealing the basement) or purchase 

the home and surrounding land at the current market value, or the market value prior to drilling, 

whichever is the higher.

References:

Brodsky, A. (1978) Handbook of Radiation Measurement and Protection, CRC Press 1978 and, 

Eisenbud, M and Gesell T. (1997)Environmental Radioactivity from Natural, Industrial and Military Sources Academic Press.

Environmental protection Agency: Radon. http://www.epa.gov/radon/pubs/index.html

Radioactivity in Nature. Iowa State University. http://physics.isu.edu/radinf/natural.htm

Lustgarten, A. (2009) Is New York’s Marcellus Shale Too Hot to Handle? ProPublica.

http://www.propublica.org/feature/is-the-marcellus-shale-too-hot-to-handle-1109

Lustgarten, A. (2009) Is New York’s Marcellus Shale Too Hot to Handle? Albany Times Union.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=863369

Radium. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium

Radon. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon

Sumi, L. (2008) Shale Gas: Focus on the Marcellus Shale. The Oil & Gas Accountability Project/Earthworks. 

http://www.earthworksaction.org/pubs/OGAPMarcellusShaleReport-6-12-08.pdf

Note: Some quotes are taken directly from the above references without further attribution.

Peter J. Davies

Professor of Biology, Cornell University

The author is a licensed handler of low-level radioactive material.