CECIL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — There are conflicting claims about radioactive material near the Montour Trail. Independent testing found elevated levels of radium near an oil and gas waste facility, but the state DEP says its inspection found no public health concern.
Channel 11 Washington County Bureau Chief Cara Sapida took a closer look at the dispute and what it means for people who live, work and exercise nearby.
Drone 11 flew over a stretch of the Montour Trail off Millers Run Road in Cecil Township, where people walk, jog and ride bikes. It is the same spot where a group of scientists and advocates recently raised concerns about what they discovered.
“I was absolutely shocked. A few expletives came out when I saw the readings. I’ve never seen anything that hot just so casually strewn about,” HAZMAT Specialist and Buckeye Environmental board member Silverio Caggiano said.
The Westland branch of the trail runs alongside 5D Field Services, a waste processing facility in Cecil Township, separated by a fence. The company stores equipment and processes waste from the oil and gas industry.
Video shows former Department of Energy scientist Dr. Yuri Gorby testing material in and around pipes with a Geiger counter as a runner passes on the trail.
Justin Nobel, a journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, helped organize the site visit, which included scientists, physicians and environmental advocates.
They say their testing detected radium levels far above federal cleanup standards.
“We have a limit of 5 pCi per gram, the EPA limit for cleaning up a site. At this site, we found radium at 3,500 pCi per gram. We are well above limits our government has set,” Nobel said.
They believe “loose pipe scale” is a public health risk.
“That poses a public health threat to residents nearby, workers on this site, kids riding bikes on this trail,” Nobel said.
Longtime Bridgeville pediatrician Dr. Ned Ketyer is president of Physicians for Social Responsibility of Pennsylvania. He says his concern is that radioactive dust could become airborne.
“The wind kicks up, a truck drives by, kicks up dust that’s radioactive. That is potentially an exposure risk. It’s unnecessary,” Ketyer said.
But the Pennsylvania DEP reached a different conclusion after conducting its own site inspection.
DEP inspectors told Channel 11 they also used specialized radiation detection equipment and found what they called “no basis for concern.”
They say the highest readings were found inside pipes containing scale buildup, and that radiation levels dropped rapidly away from those areas. Levels along the trail were within expected background ranges.
“No radiological concerns were found during this inspection, with any public exposure insignificant when compared with the public’s typical radiation exposure from everyday life,” the DEP said.
Channel 11 also reached out to the Marcellus Shale Coalition. The industry group pointed to a two-year DEP study that found no risk to human health from radiation associated with oil and gas waste.
Days later, physicians for social responsibility of Pennsylvania pushed back, saying repeated independent testing at this site has confirmed radioactivity at levels they believe exceed safe standards for the community.
Advocates now want to raise awareness.
“Unlike a lot of other radioactive materials, radium, once you get it in you, your system thinks it’s calcium, and it goes right to the bones. And it stays there for 1,300 years. It’ll remain radioactive,” Caggiano said.
The DEP tells Channel 11 that because its inspection found no public health threat, it does not plan to collect soil samples at this time.
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