By Hal Smith
A federal agency is expected to approve a pipeline that would bring natural gas—along with higher levels of carcinogenic radon gas—into New York City kitchens.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which has rejected only two pipeline permits in the past three years, is expected to approve the Spectra pipeline in mid-June. The 20-mile line would bring natural gas from the Marcellus Shale to Manhattan, via Staten Island and northern New Jersey. The Atlantic Chapter moved to intervene with FERC beginning in January, 2011.
Radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, is always present in natural gas, according to the Sane Energy Project, one of the leading groups opposing the Spectra line. New Yorkers used to get gas from Louisiana and other distant shale plays, which had lower levels of radioactivity. With the advent of fracking, the gas supply is starting to come from nearby areas of high radioactivity, such as Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale.
With less transit time for the radioactivity to dissipate, the gas coming to kitchen stoves could reach dangerous levels, especially if plans for the Spectra and other pipelines come to fruition.
Radon “becomes dangerous when inhaled, which is more likely in small or poorly-ventilated rooms, such as the typical New York City kitchen. Many apartment kitchens do not have windows, and residents often seal vents to avoid neighbors’ cooking odors,” said James W. Ring, professor emeritus of nuclear physics at Hamilton College, in testimony before the Department of Environmental Conservation. “Radon is released with methane during the extraction process of hydrofracking. This is true wherever fracking is done. The shale and gas in the Marcellus areas of Pennsylvania has proven to be more highly radioactive than other, more distant shale plays, which have previously supplied New York’s gas,” said Professor Ring.
It is estimated that gas from Pennsylvania would travel to NYC within one day. During winter months, when demand is higher, gas is delivered faster and, with apartment windows tending to be closed, the risk would be even greater.
Radon has a half life of 3.8 days. Using the general rule of thumb of 10 half lives to decay to 1/1000 of original concentration, that would be 38 days, or roughly one month, depending on how radioactive it was to start. With radon, a gas, the minimum dangerous concentration is much lower if breathed in. Twenty half lives (or 1/1,000,000 of original concentration) would require 76 days, or two and a half months. When fully decayed, radon converts to lead, not exactly a harmless substance itself.
As more of the gas supplied to NYC apartments comes from fracked sources, radon becomes more of a concern. Currently, 30% of the national gas supply is from unconventional (fracked) sources, up from 9% just 2 years ago.
In its draft environmental impact statement submitted with its FERC application, the Spectra pipeline developers do not include radon in the review of issues.