Does fracking cause higher radon levels in nearby homes? What the research shows

Austin Warehime is determined to protect his family and neighbors in Appalachia from the dangers they can't see.

A Guernsey County native who returned home, Warehime is an oil and gas attorney for EQUES Law Group. But the job title comes with a disclaimer he's quick to provide —instead of the companies profiting off fossil fuels, Warehime represents the residents who lease their land to them.

Hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, has physically and economically changed this part of southeast Ohio and brought with it both economic praise and fears about health and pollution. But along with the natural gas fracking companies are pumping out, another gas may follow.

Radon, an invisible, odorless, toxic gas can creep into homes and commercial properties without anyone noticing. Some research shows it's possible fracking might cause the release of more radon in nearby buildings, though analysis is limited and needs more exploration to determine whether there is a solid connection.

Known as the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers, radon has also since been linked to leukemia and strokes.

It's an issue that Warehime said he's now raising with his clients. He and his firm are working to add a stipulation to contracts between drillers and land owners requiring radon testing before and after fracking, much like already in-place water and soil testing.

"When you're talking about land owners... this is about getting them some control," said Warehime, explaining that the "scariest" part of fracking are the unknown impacts.

The radon risk first came to Warehime's attention through a 2015 study out of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The research found a link between higher levels of radon and fracking in Pennsylvania.

Like neighboring Pennsylvania, Ohio has seen a big jump in natural gas extraction as drillers developed new techniques to tap the Utica and Marcellus shale formations in the eastern part of the state.

During a Pennsylvania fracking boom from 2004 through 2013, buildings in counties where natural gas was most actively being extracted from shale saw higher readings of radon compared to buildings that were in low-fracking areas, the study found. There were no differences in radon levels found prior to the 2004 uptick in fracking.

Neither Ohio nor Pennsylvania require radon testing in homes, schools or public places and most residents may only learn of the gas for the first time when buying a house, according to the Environmental Law Institute.

The Pennsylvania study's findings set off alarm bells for researchers given radon's connection to lung cancer, said Joan Casey, who helped lead the study.

Casey hoped the research would spur more interest in fracking's effects on the release of radon. Ten years later though, few other studies have been conducted.

A 2019 study, co-led by a professor at Kenyon College in Ohio, found "no cause for concern" about fracking leading to higher radon levels in homes.

Another 2019 study from the University of Toledo found a correlation between fracking in Ohio and indoor radon levels. But that study was later retracted after researchers discovered the fracking well data they used may have been inaccurate.

While Casey said she'd like to see more studies examining any links between fracking and radon, she said such undertakings can be difficult to fund and complete. She doubts more comprehensive research is coming any time soon, especially if it's not something the federal government nor the fossil fuel industry are prioritizing.

"I think we still don't know the answer to this question," she said. "It's a tale as old as industry."

When asked to comment on the studies, a spokesperson for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association told The Dispatch there is no connection between fracking and elevated radon levels in Ohio homes and did not make anyone available for an interview. Factors such as local soil, construction and ventilation play a much larger role in determining indoor radon levels, the spokesperson said.

In theory, it makes sense that pumping high-pressure water below ground to force up natural gas could also release more radon, said Dr. David Carbone, head of thoracic oncology and chair of lung cancer research at Ohio State University's James Cancer Hospital. And while fracking may be necessary to keep up the supply of natural gas, Carbone said it's also logical to test nearby buildings to ensure Ohioans are not being exposed to more radon.

The lack of research on a fracking and radon connection could be due to the politicization of fracking, said Dr. Ned Ketyer, a retired pediatrician and medical advisor for the Pennsylvania-based Environmental Health Project. Fracking has long been a topic of contention, with some politicians going so far as to say it should be banned and others allowing it to rapidly expand in their states for the wealth and jobs it can bring with it.

But politics shouldn't matter when health is at stake and testing should be required to protect Ohioans from radon, Ketyer said.

"It is easy. It's not expensive. There should be no blow-back politically to do that," he said "People deserve to be protected. And when their government is negligent in protection, that's saying a lot."

Guernsey County has over 300 oil and gas wells as of 2024, according to a report from the Energy Policy Center at Cleveland State University. Yet local environmental activists who oppose fracking said they didn't know some research suggests it may increase radon levels in their homes.

Nonprofit advocacy group Save Ohio Parks has often taken the lead in pushing back on fracking throughout the state, including in state parks. The group has made it a point to educate people on the dangers of methane that comes from fracking and how the practice could impact water quality.

But Melinda Zemper and Terri Sabo, who have both been involved with the group, each said they'd never heard that fracking could raise radon levels in nearby buildings.

"That's something that we missed completely," Zemper said. "I'm very surprised. I just come from a universe where you expect lawmakers and the medical community to do the right thing... You should be proactive and do your job to help find the source of these toxins and mitigate them."

Like Zemper and Sabo, Warehime said most of his Ohio clients had never heard of a connection between fracking and radon.

When southeast Ohioans are offered lucrative lease deals by persistent oil companies, it can be difficult to say no since they come from a predominantly rural and low-income part of the state, Warehime said. And while there are Appalachians who want stricter rules or even a ban on fracking, Warehime said many who call Guernsey County home support it— especially if there's money to be made.

But that profit may come at a cost, though it's one Warehime hopes won't be overlooked forever.

"Appalachia has a long history of being used for its resources and the people being left behind," Warehime said. "That's the same thing going on with the oil and gas production here."