Scientists Link Pennsylvania’s Fracking Boom To Increased Radioactive Gas In Homes
The amount of radioactive material in Pennsylvania homes has increased alongside the state’s fracking boom, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health asserted that levels of radon — a odorless, carcinogenic, radioactive gas — have been on the rise in Pennsylvania homes since 2004, around the same time the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) began rapidly increasing the number of permits it issued for unconventional gas drilling. There had been no similar increases in indoor radon concentrations prior to 2004, the study said.
Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the world after smoking, according to the the Environmental Protection Agency. Approximately 40 percent of Pennsylvania homes are believed to have radon levels above the recommended limits, according to the state DEP.
The researchers were careful to note that the side-by-side increases in radon and fracking only represented a correlation, and should not be taken as a declaration that fracking directly caused an increased radon presence in homes. However, study leader Brian Schwartz told ThinkProgress that it’s possible fracking could be the cause, and noted that more research is needed on the subject.
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http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/09/3644539/pennsylvania-fracking-radon-study/
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