...With a legislature that meets only every two years, (click here) North Dakota has given an unusual amount of power to the agriculture commissioner and two other members of the state's Industrial Commission, charging the triumvirate with oversight of permitting and other issues critical to the oil industry, which hopes to drill 35,000 new wells within 15 years.
The current North Dakota government has given free reign to any drilling company. That means the toxic remnants of the industry are unregulated and expose the public to many dangers including radioactive waste.
Bakken Health: (click here)
...Living in the center of the industrial mess, I see many health hazards from buckets and barrels of toxic chemicals laying along side the road unattended to extreme high readings of toxic gases and chemicals released into the air that we breath. All of this comes with a price to pay, the workers seem to think the money is worth the risk, the people, livestock and wildlife that are forced into exposure with no choice are just "unfortunate"....
No lie.
It is very easy to see how erionite pulverized and airborne is a carcinogen no different than asbestos.
January 21, 2014
Where are the erionite deposits found in western North Dakota? (click here)
Gravel deposits that contain erionite are located in or near the Arikaree, Brule and Chadron geologic formations, which correspond to the Chalky Buttes, Little Badlands and Killdeer Mountain areas in Slope, Stark and Dunn counties. These geologic formations are also present in other high buttes in western North Dakota, but testing has not been done to see if erionite is present there, as well.
The map (click here) to the right outlines the enormous numbers of wells in North Dakota and where it involves erionite in the three counties currently of concern.
North Dakota produces 1 million barrels of oil each day - more than any state except Texas and even some OPEC members - affording Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, a Republican, outsized influence over energy development thanks to his seat on the commission alongside the governor and attorney general.
Now, Goehring, armed with donations from executives and political action committees at Continental Resources Inc, Whiting Petroleum Corp, Marathon Oil Corp and other companies active in the state's Bakken shale oil formation, is in the fight of his political life.
His opponent in the November election, Ryan Taylor, is a rancher and former Democratic state senator who threatens to impose stiffer regulations on an industry used to operating with little intervention in what is typically a conservative state....The current North Dakota government has given free reign to any drilling company. That means the toxic remnants of the industry are unregulated and expose the public to many dangers including radioactive waste.
Bakken Health: (click here)
...Living in the center of the industrial mess, I see many health hazards from buckets and barrels of toxic chemicals laying along side the road unattended to extreme high readings of toxic gases and chemicals released into the air that we breath. All of this comes with a price to pay, the workers seem to think the money is worth the risk, the people, livestock and wildlife that are forced into exposure with no choice are just "unfortunate"....
No lie.
...Radioactive wastes (click here) from oil and gas drilling take the form of produced water, drilling mud, sludge, slimes, or evaporation ponds and pits. It can also concentrate in the mineral scales that form in pipes (pipe scale), storage tanks, or other extraction equipment. Radionuclides in these wastes are primarily radium-226, radium-228, and radon gas. The radon is released to the atmosphere, while the produced water and mud containing radium are placed in ponds or pits for evaporation, re-use, or recovery.
The people most likely to be exposed to this source of radiation are workers at the site. They may inhale radon gas which is released during drilling and produced by the decay of radium, raising their risk of lung cancer. In addition, they are exposed to alpha and gamma radiation released during the decay of radium-226 and the low-energy gamma radiation and beta particles released by the decay of radium-228. (Gamma radiation can also penetrate the skin and raise the risk of cancer.) Workers following safety guidance will reduce their total on-site radiation exposure....
January 21, 2014
Since the oil boom in western North Dakota (click here) began several years ago, the roads in this sparsely-populated corner of the state have been taking a beating. A typical shale oil well requires 2,300 truck trips in its lifetime, driven mostly over gravel roads. With nearly 6,800 wells currently operating in the Bakken oil field, that’s a lot of heavy traffic. County road commissioners are struggling to keep up with all the maintenance, and dust has become a major nuisance. Now there’s concern that the dust clouds could have negative health effects: in certain areas, the road dust contains a carcinogenic mineral called erionite....
Gravel deposits that contain erionite are located in or near the Arikaree, Brule and Chadron geologic formations, which correspond to the Chalky Buttes, Little Badlands and Killdeer Mountain areas in Slope, Stark and Dunn counties. These geologic formations are also present in other high buttes in western North Dakota, but testing has not been done to see if erionite is present there, as well.
The map (click here) to the right outlines the enormous numbers of wells in North Dakota and where it involves erionite in the three counties currently of concern.
...Goehring has raised about $87,000 more in campaign contributions than Taylor, according to state records. Continental, the state's largest oil producer, called Goehring "a staunch advocate for agriculture and oil and gas."
Marathon declined to comment. Other producers did not return calls seeking comment.
Goehring has received contributions from at least ten oil companies or their executives. Taylor has received none; his prominent supporters include U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp and Sarah Vogel, the state's agriculture commissioner from 1989 to 1997, according to state records....
It is time for the citizens in North Dakota to stand up to Big Oil and demand the election of a man proven to be 'of the people' and interested in the health of North Dakotans. Ryan Taylor is the people's candidate. He needs support from local political organizations to knock on doors and hand out flyers. If money can't compete then it is a race of 'miles walked' to overcome this unfair advantage. The health of North Dakota relies on it.
