Radium in hydraulic fracturing wastewater: distribution in suspended solids and implications to its treatment by sulfate co-precipitation.

High concentrations of barium (Ba), strontium (Sr) and radium (Ra) are present in both the liquid and suspended solid portions of wastewater produced from hydraulic fracturing. These high concentrations often require special treatment in which the solid and liquid portions are separated and then independently treated prior to disposal. The solids are typically disposed in landfills while the liquids are further treated, recycled for future hydraulic fracturing, or disposed via injection wells.

Emerging investigator series: radium accumulation in carbonate river sediments at oil and gas produced water discharges: implications for beneficial use as disposal management.

In the western U.S., produced water from oil and gas wells discharged to surface water augments downstream supplies used for irrigation and livestock watering.

Accumulation of Marcellus Formation Oil and Gas Wastewater Metals in Freshwater Mussel Shells.

For several decades, high-salinity water brought to the surface during oil and gas (O&G) production has been treated and discharged to waterways under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. In Pennsylvania, USA, a portion of the treated O&G wastewater discharged to streams from 2008 to 2011 originated from unconventional (Marcellus) wells. We collected freshwater mussels, Elliptio dilatata and Elliptio complanata, both upstream and downstream of a NPDES-permitted facility, and for comparison, we also collected mussels from the Juniata and Delaware Rivers that have no reported O&G discharge.