"DRILLING DOWN" - AWESOME

The New York Times is publishing

the first of a series of investigative pieces

on natural gas drilling:

THE WASTE PROBLEM - HERE

"While the existence of the toxic wastes has been reported, thousands of internal documents obtained by The New York Times from the Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators and drillers show that the dangers to the environment and health are greater than previously understood.

"The documents reveal that the wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle.

"Other documents and interviews show that many E.P.A. scientists are alarmed, warning that the drilling waste is a threat to drinking water in Pennsylvania. Their concern is based partly on a 2009 study, never made public, written by an E.P.A. consultant who concluded that some sewage treatment plants were incapable of removing certain drilling waste contaminants and were probably violating the law.

"The Times also found never-reported studies by the E.P.A. and a confidential study by the drilling industry that all concluded that radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways."

This outstanding report includes:

 an abundance of previously unrevealed documents

interactive features

a new video on drilling and air pollution

AND THIS

TOXIC CONTAMINATION IN PENNSYLVANIA

Interactive Map - HERE

Out of 149 wells mapped:

42 exceeded the federal drinking water standard for

RADIUM

4 exceeded the federal drinking water standard for

URANIUM

128 exceeded the federal drinking water standard for

GROSS ALPHA RADIATION

41 exceeded the federal drinking water standard for

BENZENE

It's no coincidence that this series begins on the same day as the Oscar ceremonies with Gasland competing for Best Documentary
and Mark Ruffalo for Best Actor.

A Documentary on Natural Gas Drilling

Ignites an Oscar Controversy

Time Magazine Story - HERE

"THE WAR IS JUST HEATING UP"

ARE YOU READY?