On March 13, 2026, the PA DEP released a report of their findings from a multi-year monitoring study that sought to evaluate radium levels in landfill leachate. The study focused on landfills that had accepted waste from oil and gas drilling in the past. Since roughly 80% of oil and gas waste generated from fracking stays within state borders, it is crucially important to understand any and all radiation risks this waste might pose.
What is leachate? Leachate comes to us from Old English, and is related to the word “Leak.” Leachate is the solution (or suspension) that forms when liquid travels through a solid and takes some parts of that solid with it.
Leachate is commonly associated with landfills. When it rains on a landfill site, this can result in water moving through the landfill waste and becoming contaminated with chemicals from the waste. Because landfills can contain toxic substances, it’s important to account for that liquid and prevent it from escaping into the surrounding environment.
Rocks in and around certain oil- and gas-bearing formations may contain radium, which is naturally radioactive. Drilling through these rocks or bringing them to the surface can generate radioactive waste. Radium can be very harmful to human health, often resulting in health impacts like anemia, cataracts, fractured teeth, cancer (especially bone cancer), and even death (Source: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry).
About the study: The DEP sampled two years of raw, untreated leachate using a technique called gamma spectroscopy to measure radioactivity, followed by a radiochemistry analysis. The agency compared those results against the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission standard of 600 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of radium.
According to the report, none of the landfills in PA exceeded the regulatory threshold. In a press release about the report, DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley stated: “The takeaway here is that there is no risk to human health from radiation in landfill leachate.”
However, some scientists and environmental groups raised concerns about the results and the methods used to reach these conclusions.
- Inappropriate Standard: DEP’s study uses 600 pCi/L as the threshold, which applies to untreated wastewater from facilities like nuclear power plants.Unlike landfills, these facilities are subject to strict oversight and monitoring that account for a wide array of radioactive constituents. Furthermore, six individual samples from landfills exceeded this threshold, but DEP’s report utilized the average over time to generate their conclusions.
- Testing Problems: The test used (EPA 903) assumes clean, drinkable water. Contamination from other pollutants, particularly those from oil and gas waste, can interfere with the results of the test, in some cases masking radium and allowing for only 1% detection rate. The report was vague about the gamma spectroscopy method it used, and some samples reported a testing time that would have been too short to obtain proper readings. Claim of No Risk to Human Health: While this claim led headlines about the report, PA DEP’s document actually didn’t include these words. There was no formal risk assessment or independent public health review. The study also failed to address the total amount of radium or ways the public might be exposed to this dangerous material. .
The Youghiogheny River Watershed is home to several landfills with a history of violations. Yukon, PA’s MAX Environmental is Pennsylvania’s only RCRA Subtitle C permitted hazardous waste landfill. The site is currently under two EPA Administrative Orders on Consent.
Out of all 49 landfills in the state, MAX had the third highest average annual combined radium levels over four consecutive quarters at 453.383 pCi/L. Three other landfills included in the study reside in the Yough Watershed – Greenridge Reclamation in Scottdale, Kelly Run Sanitation in Elizabeth, and Valley Landfill in Irwin.Two of these three were in the top ten highest radium levels, with Kelly Run Sanitation at #6 (436.275 pCi/L) and Valley Landfill at #10 (396.669 pCi/L).
What can you do?
Since the PA DEP released their report, many local and state environmental groups, concerned residents, and scientists have called for DEP to acknowledge the gaps in the study. These groups are urging the state to acknowledge that the report was incomplete, based on flawed data, and was not rigorously reviewed prior to publication. Join the cause! Fill out the petition below:
Sign the Petition here!
If you are interested in learning more about Mountain Watershed Association’s work around hazardous waste, please reach out to stacey@mtwatershed.com or call 724-455-4200 x 9. MWA hosts monthly meetings at the Yukon Volunteer Fire Department to provide updates about the progress on MAX Environmental’s consent orders and share the results of our sampling of the outfall in Sewickley Creek.
Additional Reading
PA DEP Landfill Leachate Study Landing Page
Pa. DEP says landfill leachate poses no health risk. Environmentalists aren’t so sure.
“No Risk to Human Health”? – Protect PT and Coalition Call Out DEP’s Dismissal