The "Hey, Am I Glowing Yet?" Story

It was an ordinary day. The water testing has begun! Seems that the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in northern Pennsylvania may have really created more problems than first realized. Some people near the drilling sites have reported cancer causing chemicals and ingredients in their well water. Now, downstream, on the Susquehanna River there is a huge concern. The city of Lancaster, where LDub lives, has a public works director who is worried that waste water used in underground fracturing in the Marcellus Shale formation will eventually find it's way downriver into our drinking water. The waste water from drilling is taken to municipal treatment plants, processed and released into the Susquehanna. The treated waste water has bromides, a salty substance common in seawater that can increase the production of cancer-causing compounds, that may eventually get into our drinking water. Lancaster tests weekly for these bromides, but you know it is only a matter of time before they find their way down the Susquehanna River to us. Radioactivity in drinking water is regulated by the government, but only needs to be tested every 6-9 years and guess what; it hasn't been tested since they started drilling for the Marcellus gas. So now we have Three Mile Island and the 1979 radiation disaster as well as the Marcellus Shale gas drilling with all the bromides. And ...... we drink the water of the Susquehanna every day. Is it any wonder I set off the metal detector at the airport every time I travel! One of the leading companies that is drilling for the gas is from Texas. They claim on their website that they have an interest in keeping our water clean and safe to drink. Elsewhere on the site they say they have one of the lowest cost structures in the industry in order to increase shareholder value. So it's really about the money and not the clean water!! Pennsylvania is one of the few states in the US that DOESN'T tax the natural gas industry for drilling and polluting our water supply. WHY NOT? We just elected a new Governor the beginning of the year and he will not, repeat, will not, put a tax on the gas industries. Maybe because the company from Texas gave him a huge campaign contribution. And, you can bet all the rest of the companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale area also gave him a contribution. If only everybody who voted for him had done their homework before the election, we might have a tax by now that would pay for the damage that is being done to our environment, especially the water supply to cities along the Susquehanna River. Hey, am I glowing yet?! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.