Is it more hype ? Based on a review of article posted on http://www.buffalo.edu/news/11885
The article - Actually a Press Release
"'Fracking' Mobilizes Uranium in Marcellus Shale, UB Research Finds
Release Date: October 25, 2010
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Scientific and political disputes over drilling Marcellus shale for natural gas have focused primarily on the environmental effects of pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals deep underground to blast through rocks to release the natural gas.
But University at Buffalo researchers have now found that that process -- called hydraulic fracturing or "fracking"-- also causes uranium that is naturally trapped inside Marcellus shale to be released, raising additional environmental concerns.
The research will be presented at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver on Nov. 2.
Marcellus shale is a massive rock formation that stretches from New York through Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, and which is often described as the nation's largest source of natural gas.
"Marcellus shale naturally traps metals such as uranium and at levels higher than usually found naturally, but lower than manmade contamination levels," says Tracy Bank, PhD, assistant professor of geology in UB's College of Arts and Sciences and lead researcher. "My question was, if they start drilling and pumping millions of gallons of water into these underground rocks, will that force the uranium into the soluble phase and mobilize it? Will uranium then show up in groundwater?"
To find out, Bank and her colleagues at UB scanned the surfaces of Marcellus shale samples from Western New York and Pennsylvania. Using sensitive chemical instruments, they created a chemical map of the surfaces to determine the precise location in the shale of the hydrocarbons, the organic compounds containing natural gas.
"We found that the uranium and the hydrocarbons are in the same physical space," says Bank. "We found that they are not just physically -- but also chemically -- bound.
"That led me to believe that uranium in solution could be more of an issue because the process of drilling to extract the hydrocarbons could start mobilizing the metals as well, forcing them into the soluble phase and causing them to move around."
When Bank and her colleagues reacted samples in the lab with surrogate drilling fluids, they found that the uranium was indeed, being solubilized.
In addition, she says, when the millions of gallons of water used in hydraulic fracturing come back to the surface, it could contain uranium contaminants, potentially polluting streams and other ecosystems and generating hazardous waste.
The research required the use of very sophisticated methods of analysis, including one called Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, or ToF-SIMS, in the laboratory of Joseph A. Gardella Jr., Larkin Professor of Chemistry at UB.
The UB research is the first to map samples using this technique, which identified the precise location of the uranium.
"Even though at these levels, uranium is not a radioactive risk, it is still a toxic, deadly metal," Bank concludes. "We need a fundamental understanding of how uranium exists in shale. The more we understand about how it exists, the more we can better predict how it will react to 'fracking.'"
Bank conducted the experiments with UB Department of Geology graduate students Thomas Malizia and Lauren Fortson, and Lisa Andresky, an undergraduate student from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. Andresky worked in Bank's lab during the summer while on a National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates in UB's Ecosystem Restoration through Interdisciplinary Exchange (ERIE) program.
The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities."
My thoughts
1. We already know that Marcellus Shale and the flowback water and production water may contain radionuclieds and that it is highly variable.
2. This does not appear to be anything new or something that is not being told. I do not believe it is fair to state a concern about the migration of radiation in the water. If the water migrates - the biggest concern is not radiation.
3. Drilling and the drill cuttings are most likely the biggest issue and not fracking - this goes to show the importance of best management practices included closed loop driling and proper regulatory disposal or management of cuttings and fluids.
4. Radiation and treatment plants - it is likely at wastewater treatment plants - radiation will be follow a number of routes - airborne loss during aeration, coprecipitation/ settling of radionuclieds in the sludge along with other bioslimes and charged particles. Therefore - it may not be advisable to monitoring just the effluent but some air monitoring and checking of the sludges.
Note: Looking for funding of independent research related to radionuclide management in production and brine water and tracking.
.http://www.bfenvironmental.com/pdfs/naturalgaschallenges.pdf
http://www.bfenvironmental.com/pdfs/naturallyoccuringradiationoilfield.pdf
http://www.bfenvironmental.com/pdfs/PADEP_Frac_Flow_Back_Water_Study__Presence_of_Radioisotopes.pdf
Links to good reports- by EPA on radiation and Marcellus Shale or Oil/Gas Development
Other Website Articles
Radon In Water and Air
Announcement
Online Training Courses in
Radon Inspection and Testing
Radiation the Silent Killer
Household Hazardous Wastes
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