In 1597, English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon coined the famous phrase "knowledge is power." Several incidents from the past month, which have caught the attention of many in the community, bring new meaning to the quote from more than 500 years ago.

On May 1, families living near the Carter wastewater impoundment in Mt. Pleasant Township discovered a large container labeled "radioactive" close to their homes. A state Department of Environmental Protection inspector told residents there had been a spill of radioactive water near "weir tanks," which were set up next to the impoundment to separate solid particles from the water and chemical mixture used to hydraulically fracture the gas-containing shale. A DEP spokesman later denied that any spill had taken place, and the radioactive material remains in the container at the impoundment site.

Two retirees from the Pennsylvania Department of Health say its employees were silenced on the issue of Marcellus Shale drilling. One veteran employee says she was instructed not to return phone calls from residents who expressed health concerns about natural gas development. 

PA drilling pad - photo credit: Lindsey Lazarski, WHYY

"We were absolutely not allowed to talk to them," said Tammi Stuck, who worked as a community health nurse in Fayette County for nearly 36 years. Another retired employee, Marshall P. Deasy III, confirmed that.

Deasy, a former program specialist with the Bureau of Epidemiology, said the department also began requiring field staff to get permission to attend any meetings outside the department. This happened, he said, after an agency consultant made comments about drilling at a community meeting.

In the more than 20 years he worked for the department, Deasy said, "community health wasn't told to be silent on any other topic that I can think of."