Radioactive isotopes reveal age of oil, gas wastewater spills

Radium isotopes in soils can be used to determine the age of oil and gas wastewater spills, research shows. Three new isotopic age-dating methods developed by the team could be useful for identifying the source of a spill where it’s not certain if contamination stems from recent unconventional oil and gas drilling or from older, conventional oil and gas operations in the same watershed.
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