Radioactive Waste from Oil & Gas Industries is Poisoning Neighborhoods Across the US
The fossil fuel industry produces trillions of gallons of toxic waste every year
Regulatory loopholes allow firms to dump the waste in waterways, dump sites and open disposal sites
The industry is finding ways to sell radioactive waste as “beneficial” by-products
The original report: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-gas-fracking-radioactive-investigation-937389/
New York, NY— The oil and gas industry is dumping cancer-causing radioactive waste in neighborhoods across America as it continues to put revenue above all other impacts of its business.
A report in Rolling Stone, “America’s Radioactive Secret,” reveals that the industry not only knows about the devastating health impacts but uses regulatory loopholes to further contaminate communities in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana and many other places across the country.
Extinction Rebellion is an international movement rebelling against the global destruction of ecosystems, including the impacts in our own backyards. The oil and gas extraction process — both wells and fracking — produces a by-product called “brine” which includes heavy metals and radioactive materials, in particular a gas called radon that is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the US. This material and process is not only unregulated in most of the country, but the workers are unaware of their constant exposure and the danger of handling the material without protection.
Extinction Rebellion is grateful to Rolling Stone for their continued work to Tell The Truth about the extractive industry, exposing its lies and the unregulated impacts that are taking a devastating toll on the health of people and the natural world. We call on governments around the world to Tell the Truth and Act Now. They must put the necessary regulations in place to protect oil and gas workers and residents harmed by the radioactive waste being dumped in neighbourhoods up and down the country.
For further information on environmental health hazards:
Aaron Bernstein MD, MPH, Interim Director
Aaron examines the human health effects of global environmental changes with the aim of promoting a deeper understanding of these subjects among students, educators, policy makers, and the public. Full Bio
Drew Michanowicz DrPH, CPHm Research Associate
Drew’s research interests are related to poorly understood and emerging environmental hazards on both global- and community-level scales. Full Bio
Jonathan Buonocore Sc.D, Research Scientist
Jonathan focuses on the health, environmental, and climate impacts of energy, and the benefits of reducing carbon emissions—commonly called “health co-benefits.” Full Bio
About Extinction Rebellion:
Time has almost entirely run out to address the ecological crisis which is upon us, including the 6th mass species extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices, with human extinction also a possibility, if rapid action is not taken.
Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.
Our demands are:
TELL THE TRUTH: Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
ACT NOW: Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
BEYOND POLITICS: Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens' Assembly on climate and ecological justice.
JUST TRANSITION: We demand a just transition that prioritizes the most vulnerable people and establishes indigenous sovereignty; establishes reparations and remediation led by and for Black people, Indigenous people, people of color and poor communities for years of environmental injustice, establishes legal rights for ecosystems to thrive and regenerate in perpetuity, and repairs the effects of ongoing ecocide to prevent extinction of humanity and all species, in order to maintain a livable, just planet for all.
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