A new WORC report finds that state governments across the West fail to protect citizens and the environment from a tide of the oil and gas industry’s byproduct, radioactive waste.
The report, No Time to Waste, finds that storage, transport, and disposal of radioactive oil and gas field waste are vastly under-regulated. Oil and gas industry wastes are exempt from the federal regulation. As a result, states regulate radioactive oil and gas field wastes through a patchwork of rules and policy guidelines.
“Oil and gas companies essentially handle and dispose of radioactive waste at their own discretion,” said Bob LeResche, then-Chair of WORC. “Some have resorted to the cheapest option, illegally dumping it.”
No Time to Waste reviews regulation of radioactive oil and gas waste in six states: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.