WASHINGTON - Responding to yet more revelations from a investigative series in The New York Times on natural gas extraction, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, and Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, today sent a letter to Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking whether her agency had excluded plans to study radioactivity in the waste products from natural gas fracking. The Congressmen also asked for several studies and documents mentioned in the Times article and made inquires about steps EPA is taking to protect workers from exposure to radioactive materials.
"Studying the potentially harmful effects from natural gas extraction is not some innocuous academic exercise, it helps ensure this technology is safe, viable and can make the grade," said Rep. Markey. "When a technology involves potential contamination of drinking water in American homes, not completing the assignment is not an option."
"Recent news reporting and Congressional investigations cry out for more study into the impact of natural gas extraction on our environment and human health," Rep. Holt said. "The public has a right to know of any harmful effects."
The Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over the Bureau of Land Management, which manages 40 million acres of subsurface land in 31 eastern states, including management of oil and gas leases on 2 million acres of land in states such as Penn., W.V., N.Y., and Ohio.
Reps. Markey and Holt sent a letter previously this week to the Department of Interior, and Rep. Markey sent a letter earlier this week to the EPA.
