Pennsylvania struggles with highly radioactive fracking waste two decades after industry boom began

Twenty years after Pennsylvania’s fracking boom transformed the state into a major natural gas producer, officials and experts warn that the commonwealth still lacks adequate oversight of the industry’s radioactive waste problem. This waste management crisis has grown more urgent as new scientific research reveals that fracking waste is significantly more radioactive than previously understood.

When John Quigley took over as Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection secretary in 2015, he anticipated challenges from the state’s rapid natural gas expansion. However, the radioactive waste issue proved to be among the most complex and persistent problems facing regulators. Former government officials now argue that Pennsylvania has failed to develop sufficient regulations to protect public health and the environment from this contaminated material.

The radioactive waste, known as “produced water” and drilling cuttings, contains naturally occurring radioactive materials that are brought to the surface during the fracking process. This waste can contain radium, uranium, and other radioactive elements that pose long-term health and environmental risks. Despite the scale of Pennsylvania’s fracking operations—which have generated millions of gallons of this waste—the state continues to grapple with questions about proper disposal methods, transportation safety, and long-term storage solutions.

Environmental advocates and former regulators emphasize that Pennsylvania’s regulatory framework has not kept pace with the industry’s growth or the emerging science about radioactive contamination levels, leaving communities potentially vulnerable to exposure from inadequately managed fracking waste.