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Study finds link between fracking, high home radon levels
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: July 5, 2019
A University of Toledo study connected the proximity of fracking to higher household concentrations of radon gas, the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.
Measuring and geocoding data from 118,421 homes across all 88 counties in Ohio between 2007 and 2014, scientists found that proximity to the 1,162 fracking wells is linked to higher indoor radon concentrations, according to a press release announcing publication of the study in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.
"The shorter the distance a home is from a fracking well, the higher the radon concentration. The larger the distance, the lower the radon concentration," said University of Toledo distinguished professor and Civil and Environmental Engineering Department chair Ashok Kumar.
Kumar and coauthor Yanqing Xu, an assistant professor in the university's Geography and Planning Department, found the average radon concentrations among all tested homes across the state are higher than safe levels outlined by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization standards.
The average is 5.76 picocuries of radiation per liter, or pCi/l, while the EPA threshold is 4.0 pCi/l. The postal code 43557 in the city of Stryker in Williams County has the highest radon concentration at 141.85 pCi/l for the data set.
"We care about air quality," Xu said. "Our motivation is to save the lives of Ohioans. I hope this eye-opening research inspires families across the state to take action and have their homes tested for radon and, if needed, install mitigation systems to protect their loved ones."
The study, an interdepartmental collaboration, was supported by grants from the Ohio Department of Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Radon is created when the naturally occurring uranium in soil, water and rocks begins to break down.
In addition to stimulating the flow of the natural gas deposits in the Marcellus and Utica shales, scientists believe fracking may impact natural break down of the element in the rock.
Most fracking wells are located in eastern Ohio, while Athens County has the highest number of fracking wells with 108. Fulton County is the only county with more than 20 fracking wells in western Ohio.
Researchers used data from the publicly accessible Ohio Radon Information System, which the university began developing more than 25 years ago and maintains to improve public knowledge about indoor radon concentration.
Licensed testers collect data each year in basements and first floors of homes in Ohio's 1,496 ZIP codes.
"You can find the average radon concentration in your ZIP code on the website (www.eng.utoledo.edu)," Kumar said.
The data in the study are from self-reported devices and not distributed equally throughout Ohio.
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