Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Publishes Long-Awaited Study on Radioactivity in Landfill Runoff – Inside Climate News

Published

3 hours ago

March 14, 2026

Pennsylvania Publishes Long-Awaited Study on Radioactivity in Landfill Runoff – Inside Climate News

A decade ago, Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection published a study on radioactivity in the oil and gas industry, motivated by fears that increasing volumes of toxic fracking waste could pose risks to the environment and public health. That study concluded, in part, that more research was needed—especially regarding the impacts on landfills where this waste is disposed.

On Friday, the agency released a follow-up study that specifically examined landfill leachate, the liquid byproduct formed when rainwater passes through waste, picking up contaminants along the way.

“The takeaway here is that there is no risk to human health from radiation in landfill leachate,” said Jessica Shirley, DEP’s secretary, in a press release. DEP’s study analyzed samples from 49 landfills in Pennsylvania over two years, from 2021 to 2023. That includes 23 landfills that received oil and gas waste, according to state records.

But environmental and policy experts warned that this study was too narrow to draw definitive conclusions about the potential for long-term harm from leachate contaminated by such waste.

“This is an interim report,” said Daniel Bain, an associate professor of geology and environmental science at the University of Pittsburgh who has studied oil and gas waste. “This is not, ‘We’ve looked at the problem; it’s not a problem.’ It’s, ‘We’ve looked at the problem. There doesn’t appear to be a problem now.’”

The snapshot DEP captured in this study doesn’t preclude different results in the future, Bain said, and provides little insight into cumulative environmental effects.

The study acknowledges its determination that there is “no current cause for concern” is based on limited data. “It is important to recognize that more landfill leachate samples and radiochemistry analysis is warranted to generate additional data to confirm these initial findings,” the study’s authors wrote in their conclusions.

David Allard, the former director of DEP’s Bureau of Radiation Protection, who oversaw the 2016 study on oil and gas waste, said he was “not surprised” by the results. “It’s in line with what they were seeing early on,” he said. “I’m comfortable with the findings” that radioactivity from leachate doesn’t currently pose a threat to human health.

However, DEP should implement consistent, long-term monitoring, Allard said. “The landfills will change over time. My opinion is there should be at least annual sampling.”

In 2021, then-Gov. Tom Wolf announced that landfills in Pennsylvania would be required to regularly test for radium. Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was then the attorney general, supported Wolf’s decision at the time. DEP confirmed in December that the requirement had not been implemented, and it did not announce any such rule alongside the new report.

DEP found that samples from only 11 of the landfills exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s limits for combined radium-226 and 228 in drinking water, and none of them exceeded the much higher annual average standard for radium set by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for untreated wastewater from facilities licensed to use radioactive material.

Neither of these numbers is ideal for assessing leachate. “There really are no standards for leachate,” Allard said.

DEP also found “no correlation” between samples that exceeded the EPA standard and landfills that, according to state records, had accepted oil and gas waste. But a 2025 Inside Climate News analysis found that some of those records are full of inconsistencies. Discrepancies totaled almost 1.4 million tons between what Pennsylvania oil and gas operators said they’d sent and what landfills said they’d received, with some landfills reporting far more incoming oil and gas waste. One possible explanation is waste coming in from other states.

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Oil and gas operators reported creating nearly 8.8 million tons of solid waste between 2017 and 2024. About 6.3 million tons of it went to landfills across the state.

Environmental groups in Pennsylvania have worried about the consequences of generating and disposing of so much oil and gas waste since the fracking boom began two decades ago. Oil and gas waste is often radioactive, and it can also contain heavy metals and other toxic chemicals.

Former DEP Secretary David Hess, who now runs the publication PA Environment Digest, pointed out several previous issues related to radioactive fracking waste, from it being sent to public wastewater treatment plants that couldn’t properly handle it to treatment equipment needing to be decontaminated for radiation.

“Like a lot of things with the shale gas industry, we are the guinea pigs and have to learn things the hard way,” he said.

Several studies have shown that some radioactivity from oil and gas waste has already found its way into the environment—for example, downstream of discharge points from facilities that processed or accepted that waste.

“They are just acting like the end of the pipe is the end. They aren’t thinking about what’s going to happen as things accumulate in the streams,” Bain said of the DEP study.

He cautioned that the nature of the pollutants in oil and gas waste—and the total volume produced by the state every year—means regulators will need to keep a close eye on radioactivity in the environment and at landfills for a long time to come.

“Now that we’ve allowed it to happen, we’re going to have to be watching forever,” he said.

About This Story

Perhaps you noticed: This story, like all the news we publish, is free to read. That’s because Inside Climate News is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. We do not charge a subscription fee, lock our news behind a paywall, or clutter our website with ads. We make our news on climate and the environment freely available to you and anyone who wants it.

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Kiley Bense

Reporter, Pennsylvania

Kiley Bense covers climate change and the environment with a focus on Pennsylvania, politics, energy, and public health. She has reported on the effects of the fracking boom in Pennsylvania, the expansion of the American plastics industry, and the intersection of climate change and culture. Her previous work has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, the Believer, and Sierra Magazine, and she holds master’s degrees in journalism and creative writing from Columbia University. She is based in Pennsylvania.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania just funded 12 new EV charging stations – here’s where they’re going

Published

15 hours ago

March 13, 2026

Press Room

Pennsylvania just funded 12 new EV charging stations – here’s where they’re going

Photo: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is investing $9 million in federal funds to add more EV charging stations along major roadways.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) this week announced funding for 12 new EV charging stations along major routes across the state. The projects are funded through the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.

The announcement builds on the $54 million Pennsylvania has already committed to public charging through NEVI. So far, the state has built 30 charging stations using NEVI funding, the most of any state in the US. An additional 53 stations are currently in planning or under construction.

Since Pennsylvania’s first NEVI charging station opened in December 2023, the stations have supported more than 80,000 charging sessions. PennDOT estimates those sessions have enabled over 9.6 million miles of electric driving and cut more than 2,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

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PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said the new projects are meant to fill in gaps between highway travel and local charging access.

“These projects will expand access to electric vehicle charging from our alternative fuel connections and bridge the gap between long-distance travel and community-based chargers,” Carroll said. “This is a critical step to improving reliability and access to meet the needs of EV drivers in the Commonwealth.”

Where the new EV charging stations are going

PennDOT’s NEVI Corridor Connections funding will support charging projects across multiple counties:

Berks County

$825,958 – Sheetz, Fleetwood, along Route 222 near mile marker 73

Bradford County

$1,141,968 – Dandy (operated by eCAMION USA), Towanda, along Route 6 near mile marker 178

Cambria County

$1,121,968 – Perkins (operated by eCAMION USA), Johnstown, along Route 219 near mile marker 49
$825,958 – Sheetz, Ebensburg, along Route 22 near mile marker 100

Lackawanna County

$661,584 – Best Western Plus (operated by Universal EV LLC), Clarks Summit, along Route 6 near mile marker 328

Lancaster County

$779,558 – Sheetz, Landisville, along Route 283 at Exit 26
$623,630 – Sheetz, Willow Street, along Route 222 near mile marker 24
$789,028 – Wawa, Lancaster, along Route 222 near mile marker 29

Lehigh County

$789,028 – Wawa, Allentown, along Interstate 78 at Exit 57

Northampton County

$789,028 – Wawa, Bethlehem, along Interstate 78 at Exit 67

Perry County

$525,474 – Onvo Travel Plaza (operated by Raceway Management Company), Duncannon, along Route 15 near mile marker 67

Tioga County

$500,034 – Onvo Travel Plaza (operated by Raceway Management Company), Mansfield, along Route 6 near mile marker 271

The state is also continuing to expand its NEVI program. Applications for NEVI Community Charging funding are now open for Pennsylvania’s southeastern region. Applications for other regions will roll out on a rolling basis, starting with the western region in the coming weeks.

Read more: Pennsylvania unlocks $100M to install EV chargers in communities

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Pennsylvania

Investigation into HVAC fires in classrooms stretches from NJ to Pa.

Published

1 day ago

March 13, 2026

Press Room

Investigation into HVAC fires in classrooms stretches from NJ to Pa.

At Arthur Rann Elementary School in Galloway Township, remediation crews are working to clear the air as investigators try to get to the bottom of fires in four separate HVAC units in less than a month.

The alarming issue sparked a call across state lines from New Jersey to northeast Pennsylvania.

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Plains Township Fire Captain Curt Nocera was told about the HVAC fires in Galloway that happened on two separate nights in January and February, plus a fifth in a classroom at Wildwood High School.

“I was honestly very shocked that he would have reached out to Plains Township with his concerns as well,” he said.

Captain Nocera was especially surprised because Plains Township just had a similar HVAC fire in a local school in November.

“We could not determine the actual cause of the fire,” Nocera said. “Our children and safety is top priority in my book.”

The units involved in each fire are all from the same brand: Airdale by Modine.

The half dozen fires all happened at night before school had opened for the day.

Investigators from both states have traded notes to figure out why the fires are starting and whether there’s a link.

“This is an ongoing problem that needs to be investigated,” Nocera said.

After the second batch of fires at the Galloway school, power was cut to the rest of the HVAC units.

NBC10 learned that a thorough check revealed evidence that some of them were starting to burn as well.

School district records show the units in Galloway and Wildwood were installed by the same company.

Both districts also used the same architectural firm to design the HVAC systems.

Neither the architectural firm nor Modine have returned NBC10’s requests for comments.

No one was hurt in any of the fires.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania High School Boys Basketball 2026 Playoff Brackets, Schedule (PIAA) – March 13-14, 2026

Published

2 days ago

March 12, 2026

Press Room

Pennsylvania High School Boys Basketball 2026 Playoff Brackets, Schedule (PIAA) – March 13-14, 2026

The 2026 Pennsylvania high school boys basketball state playoffs continue on Friday, March 13th with Quarterfinal games for all divisions.

High School On SI has brackets for every division in the PIAA high school boys basketball playoffs. The state championships begin March 19th.

Pennsylvania High School Boys Basketball 2026 Playoff Brackets, Schedule (PIAA) – March 13-14, 2026

CLASS 1A BRACKET (select to view bracket)

Quarterfinals

High Point Baptist Academy vs. Coventry Christian – 3/13

Sankofa Freedom Academy vs. York Country Day – 3/13

Conestoga Christian vs. Neighborhood Academy – 3/13

Elk County Catholic vs. Erie First Christian Academy – 3/13

CLASS 2A BRACKET (select to view bracket)

Quarterfinals

Delone Catholic vs. Old Forge – 3/14

Paul Robeson vs. United Valley – 3/14

Sewickley Academy vs. McConnellsburg – 3/14

Jeannette vs. Mercyhurst Prep – 3/14

CLASS 3A BRACKET (select to view bracket)

Quarterfinals

West Catholic vs. Riverside – 3/14

Notre Dame-Green Pond vs. Warrior Run – 3/14

Trinity vs. Forest Hills – 3/14

Bishop Guilfoyle vs. Westmont Hilltop – 3/14

CLASS 4A BRACKET (select to view bracket)

Quarterfinals

Bishop McDevitt vs. Lewisburg – 3/13

Devon Prep vs. Scranton Prep – 3/13

Carver High School of Engineering & Science vs. North Catholic – 3/13

Deer Lakes vs. Obama Academy of International Studies – 3/13

CLASS 5A BRACKET (select to view bracket)

Quarterfinals

Monsignor Bonner/Archbishop Prendergast Catholic vs. Springfield – 3/13

Upper Moreland vs. Neumann-Goretti – 3/13

West York Area vs. Moon Area – 3/13

Chartiers Valley vs. Greater Johnstown – 3/13

CLASS 6A BRACKET (select to view bracket)

Quarterfinals

Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Father Judge – 3/14

Imhotep Charter vs. Parkland – 3/14

Central Dauphin vs. New Castle – 3/14

Central Catholic vs. Upper St. Clair – 3/14

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