Gas Pipeline Pumps Radioactive Radon into Homes
In New York City, the Spectra gas pipeline that went online in 2013 is delivering more than just energy-efficient, clean-burning natural gas from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. It’s also piping radioactive radon gas that’s contaminating commercial and residential boilers, ovens, stoves, dryers and water heaters at 30 to 80 times baseline levels—well above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency safe level for radiation exposure.
According to Dr. Sheila Bushkin-Bedient, with the University of Albany, New York, “While it may be possible to remove other components of raw natural gas such as ethane, propane, butane and pentanes at natural gas processing centers, it’s not possible to remove radioactive substances such as radon. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers and the second-leading cause among smokers and indirect (secondhand) smokers.”
The Spectra conduit is one of hundreds of pipelines and fossil fuel infrastructure projects across the country being quickly approved by the Federal Energy and Regulatory Commission. Citizens should demand that elected officials connect the dots and halt the uncontrolled rush to drill new sites regardless of safety concerns and let them know people are alarmed by the possibility of radioactive gas entering their communities.
To learn more, visit MariasFarmCountryKitchen.com/radon-gas.
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