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Justin Nobel

Justin Nobel writes for DeSmog and other U.S. publications, including Rolling Stone and Harper’s, on the impacts of oil and gas industry waste on workers, communities, public health, and the environment. His reporting has won awards from the National Association of Science Writers, and been featured in the Best American Science Writing book series. Justin’s 2024 book, “Petroleum-238: Big Oil’s Dangerous Secret and the Grassroots Fight to Stop It,” together with his DeSmog reporting, has inspired government investigations and scientific research. A documentary film is presently being made about his reporting. Contact him at [email protected].

Articles by Justin Nobel

Her Son Died of a Rare Bone Cancer. Could Radioactive Fracking Waste Be to Blame?
ByJustin Nobel
on
An on-the-ground investigation in Pennsylvania finds unprotected radioactive material next to a popular bike and walking trail.
Janice Blanock leaning on the fence dividing a running and biking trail from the Cecil oil and gas waste yard.
The Oil Industry’s Latest Disaster: Trillions of Gallons of Buried Toxic Wastewater
ByJustin Nobel
on
Industry and regulators knew decades ago that injecting drilling’s toxic liquid leftovers underground wasn’t safe.
Deep injection well used for disposal of oil drilling and hydraulic fracking wasterwater in Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California, USA. (Credit: Citizens of the Planet/Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)
us/How 77 Tons of Radioactive Waste Ended Up in Brooklyn
ByJustin Nobel
on
A lawsuit charges National Grid, a major gas utility, with mismanaging a toxic industrial site near two densely-populated residential neighborhoods.
The gate to the Equity Works Gas Site in Brooklyn New York. Among several signed affixed to the dingy white brick walls on either side of the closed rolldown gate, one states it is in a state environmental remediation project.
Whistleblower Demands PA’s Gov. Fix ‘Completely Unregulated’ Fracking Wastewater Network
ByJustin Nobel
on
A new lawsuit alleges toxic, radioactive waste leaked into a PA family’s water well, uncovering a regulatory abyss for miles of fracking pipelines in the state.
Protesters march against fracking operations in Williamsport, PA. Credit:
From UK to Norway, Drillers Legally Dump Tonnes of Toxic, Radioactive Waste Into the North Sea
ByJustin Nobel
on
The oil and gas industry has been using the basin as a free disposal site for decades.
Header illustration.
us/How Fracking Is Making Some U.S. Communities More Radioactive Than Chernobyl
ByJustin Nobel
on
A Q&A with DeSmog reporter Justin Nobel about his revelatory new book, Petroleum-238.
DeSmog author Justin Nobel signs copies of his new book, Petroleum-238, in Brooklyn. Credit: Emily Gertz
us/Big Oil’s Dangerous Radioactive Secret
ByJustin Nobel
on
DeSmog writer Justin Nobel’s new book explores how workers bear the brunt of the oil and gas industry’s hidden contaminated waste.
Left, Petroleum 238 cover. Credit: Sabrina Bedford, design; Julie Dermansky, photo. Right, author Justin Nobel. Credit: Karen LeBlanc.
us/In West Virginia, Plan to Clean up Radioactive Fracking Waste Ends in Monster Lawsuit
ByJustin Nobel
on
The legal battle over a treatment plant built by French multinational Veolia points to a hidden source of oil industry harm.
The legal battle over a facility to treat fracking waste in West Virginia opens a window into the regulatory vacuum governing the industry’s radioactive waste. Illustration Credit: Sabrina Bedford
us/EPA Weighs Superfund Status for Ohio Facility Handling Radioactive Oilfield Waste
ByJustin Nobel
on
The move could pave the way for otherwise missing federal oversight for these facilities.
A white cement block building with three sets of red double doors, red-lined windows, and a red trim with the words 'Austin Master Services LLC' in white.
us/Radioactive Waste ‘Everywhere’ at Ohio Oilfield Facility, Says Former Worker
ByJustin Nobel
on
Community groups present health and environmental justice concerns to the EPA, alleging workers at Austin Master Services are coated in dangerous levels of radioactive waste.
A man walking on a second story balcony outside a large white and red building. A sign reads 'Austin Master Services - Martins Ferry Main Gate'