A wide shot of a well pad with many trucks lined up, and a circular water containment

A hydraulic fracturing pad in Western Pennsylvania. Photo: Ted Auch/ FracTracker Alliance

Investigation: The fracking industry’s waste problem

Drilling for oil and gas generates millions of tons of waste, and much of it is radioactive.

Are government agencies paying close enough attention? Inside Climate News investigates Pennsylvania’s oversight of this toxic waste.

Latest Stories

Takeaways from frack waste investigation in Pennsylvania

Julie Grant·January 9, 2026

Inside Climate News found lax state oversight of solid waste from oil and gas drilling, despite new findings that it's more radioactive than previously thought.

Energy Frack Waste Latest Stories Pollution Water

Three people holding an umbrella stand on a bridge over a creek, amongst greenery

The ‘toxic cocktail’ brewing in Pennsylvania’s waterways

Inside Climate News·December 21, 2025

Pennsylvania is still cleaning up decades’ worth of coal mining pollution. Now it must also contend with millions of tons of fracking waste, some of it radioactive.

Energy Frack Waste Latest Stories Pollution Water

The back of a garbage druck on a wet rainy road

Twenty years into fracking, Pennsylvania has yet to reckon with its radioactive waste

Inside Climate News·December 20, 2025

Former government officials say the state isn’t doing enough to regulate fracking waste, even as new research shows it’s far more radioactive than previously known.

Energy Frack Waste Latest Stories Pollution Water

A green hillside with a brown dirt road through it

Tracking oil and gas waste in Pennsylvania is still a ‘logistical mess’

Inside Climate News·December 19, 2025

More than a decade after regulators promised to improve reporting standards for this waste, an investigation found huge discrepancies in state records.

Energy Frack Waste Latest Stories Pollution

A green sign with three flags on tall flagpoles sit along a roadside, with blue skies.

Ohio landfills take drilling waste, but don’t track or test much of it

Julie Grant·December 4, 2025

Our investigation with Inside Climate News reveals the lack of oversight of drilling waste moving through Ohio landfills, potentially putting waterways at risk.

Energy Frack Waste Latest Stories Pollution Water

Two large strips can be seen on a hill side. One is dark gray and the other is the color of dirtl

Along the banks of the Mon, fracking waste in a landfill once again poses a pollution problem

Reid Frazier·October 6, 2025

The Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill accepts fracking waste. But some fear fracking contaminants like radium could end up in the Monongahela River.

Energy Frack Waste Health Pollution Reporting from the Mon Water

A warning sign posted in a wooded area reading, "WARNING Hazardous Waste Discharge Point."

Pollution from a Westmoreland Co. landfill caused problems for decades. Fracking waste made it worse

Inside Climate News·March 6, 2025

Max Environmental Technologies hazardous waste landfill in Westmoreland County has a history of compliance problems. Fracking waste, which is often radioactive, made it worse.

Energy Frack Waste Pollution Water Your Environment Update

$A truck delivers fracking wastewater$

A new book takes on the dangers of radioactivity in the oil and gas industry

Kara Holsopple·December 30, 2024

Science journalist Justin Nobel's shocking seven-year investigation looks at how the industry has skirted regulations and endangered public health.

Energy Frack Waste Health Pollution Your Environment Update

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Investigation: The fracking industry’s waste problem

Latest Stories

Takeaways from frack waste investigation in Pennsylvania

The ‘toxic cocktail’ brewing in Pennsylvania’s waterways

Twenty years into fracking, Pennsylvania has yet to reckon with its radioactive waste

Tracking oil and gas waste in Pennsylvania is still a ‘logistical mess’

Ohio landfills take drilling waste, but don’t track or test much of it

Along the banks of the Mon, fracking waste in a landfill once again poses a pollution problem

Pollution from a Westmoreland Co. landfill caused problems for decades. Fracking waste made it worse

A new book takes on the dangers of radioactivity in the oil and gas industry