DEP testing was flawed, no danger of radioactivity in western Pa. creek
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New DEP tests found no concerns for radioactivity in Ten Mile Creek. Photo: Reid Frazier
The state Department of Environmental Protection says its initial test results were flawed, and there is no danger of elevated radioactivity in Ten Mile Creek, Greene County. The waterway feeds into the Monongahela River, which is a source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people in western Pennsylvania, including parts of Pittsburgh.
As StateImpact Pennsylvania previously reported, a local watershed group had raised concerns after finding surprisingly high concentrations of bromides, triggering speculation it could be associated with illegal dumping of fracking wastewater. An April 2014 test by the DEP showed levels of radium-226 and radium-228 at levels 60 times higher than federal drinking water standards.
“[The bureau of] mining thought they could handle it with the equipment they had, to do very basic sampling,” says DEP spokesman John Poister. “But as we learned, this was not necessarily the equipment for the kind of specific sampling that needed to be done for this type of a project.”
For more, read StateImpact Pennsylvania's story.