Mon River Test: PAW Quality Not Impacted by Drilling Compounds
Washington
PA Observer Reporter
17 May 2011
By Christie Campbell, Staff writer
chriscam@observer-reporter.com
Testing at two water intakes on the Monongahela River has not found any
harmful levels of radioactive material in drinking water.
The results confirmed that the quality of the water supplied by
Pennsylvania American Water's treatment plants has not been impacted by
radioactive materials, or volatile organic or inorganic compounds from
Marcellus Shale drilling wastewater, according to Josephine Posti,
PAW's external affairs specialist.
The water company recently undertook a number of tests along the
Allegheny, Clarion and Monongahela rivers as well as Two Lick Creek in
Indiana. The water on the Mon River was tested at water intakes at the
Elrama plant and one at the intersection of Beck's Run and Carson
Street in Pittsburgh.
Posti said the testing was not ordered by the state Department of
Environmental Protection but was undertaken by the company in response
to an article published February in The New York Times.
In that article, The Times reported that several EPA scientists
believed drilling waste is a threat to drinking water in Pennsylvania.
The EPA also had, in a confidential study, determined that
radioactivity in drilling waste could not be fully diluted in rivers
and other waterways. The article said most drinking water intake plants
had not tested for radioactivity since before 2006, at least two years
before the gas drilling boom.
"We thought just to ensure consumer confidence that we do some
additional testing to let folks know that their water meets or
surpasses state and federal regulations," Posti said Monday.
The water company's report came as good news to one gas extraction
company.
"We now have multiple reports from academics, the state and now water
companies confirming that water remains safe to drink. We hope this
factual and scientific information will help us to continue to earn
public trust that natural gas will not repeat the mistakes of other
industries in our region a century ago," said Matt Pitzarella,
spokesman for Range Resources.
The water company performed the additional testing for more than 90
contaminants. No detectable levels of radiological contaminants were
found, including gross alpha radiation, gross beta radiation,
radium-226, radium-228, strontium-90 and tritium.
No VOCs, including benzene, carbon tetrachloride, vinyl chloride,
xylenes and others, were found.
Posti said the DEP requested the company test its finished drinking
water at three sites in late March for total alkalinity, bromide,
chloride, pH, total dissolved solids, uranium, gross alpha radiation,
radium-226, and radium-228.
All of the data received showed that they were within acceptable water
quality standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
the DEP.
However, a report in March by the DEP that area waterways were not
being tainted by drilling activities was challenged by a University of
Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health. In addition, Clean Water
Action had threatened a lawsuit against the Franklin Township Sewer
Authority if it did not stop accepting Marcellus Shale wastewater. That
authority stopped accepting the wastewater last month.
Last month the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a group of petroleum
producers, agreed with an initial finding by a research team led by Dr.
Jeanne VanBriesen at Carnegie Mellon University that showed elevated
levels of bromide in the Mon River.
As a result, the DEP ordered 15 water treatment plants to stop
accepting wastewater from gas drilling companies by Thursday.
Pitzarella said despite the positive report, "we support ongoing
research and scientific analysis. Range and others will continue to
develop new and better technologies to reduce our environmental impacts
while safely developing natural gas and creating jobs for
Pennsylvanians."