Reid Frazier

Living on Earth

Reid Frazier is a writer and radio producer based in Pittsburgh.

Reid R. Frazier is a writer and radio producer. His work has aired on NPR, Marketplace, Burn: An Energy Journal, and other places. He’s written for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Pittsburgh Quarterly and other magazines. He is an energy and environment producer for Pittsburgh public radio show, The Allegheny Front.

He was a reporter at the North Jersey Herald & News and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He is a graduate of Hampshire College and holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Vermont.

He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Marijke, and their daughters Anya and Ruby.

Kenton Ganster, left, stands with his mother, Kathleen, with a drilling rig used for fracking visible in the background off of the Rachel Carson Trail north of Pittsburgh.

Drilling rigs used in fracking found along nature trail irk some hikers

She stood for environmentalism. Now a drilling rig stands along the trail in her name.

Drilling rigs used in fracking found along nature trail irk some hikers
Solar workers

Solar jobs now outnumber coal jobs in the US

Solar jobs now outnumber coal jobs in the US
Trump coal supporter

Coal country is pinning its hopes on Trump

Coal country is pinning its hopes on Trump
Mobile methane sensors

Scientists and industry are both working to find and stop dangerous methane leaks

Scientists and industry are both working to find and stop dangerous methane leaks
A gas flare burns at a fracking site in rural Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

Falling natural gas prices are bad news for some US communities

Falling natural gas prices are bad news for some US communities
Coal in West Virginia

In the US, the cost of illnesses triggered by air pollution is falling

Particulates and other emissions from burning fossil fuels are costly for human health: the WHO says 3.3 million people die prematurely due to air pollution. But in the US, utilities are shifting away from coal power and the costs of illnesses triggered by pollution is falling.

In the US, the cost of illnesses triggered by air pollution is falling
Coal efuse pile

The decline of coal means less money to clean up coal mining's toxic past

In states like Pennsylvania, efforts to deal with the mess left behind from abandoned coal mines have hit an unexpected — and rather ironic — hurdle: the decline of the coal industry itself.

The decline of coal means less money to clean up coal mining's toxic past
Homer City plant

US coal plants are preparing to comply with new EPA rules

Coal-fired power plants in the US are working to comply with new EPA rules limiting mercury and sulfur dioxide. New equipment and other measures are being taken because of clean air rules the Obama administration imposed on the coal industry. It is a massive undertaking.

US coal plants are preparing to comply with new EPA rules
Margie Richard stands in what used to be her front yard, across the street from Shell's chemical plant in Norco, Louisiana. Richard pushed for the company to buy out the neighborhood and move residents.

How one woman fought one of the world’s biggest oil companies — and won

It took decades of tragedies and illnesses, and a trip to see UN officials, but a retired teacher in the small town of Norco, Louisiana persuaded Shell Oil to relocate the residents of her neighborhood away from a dangerous chemical plant. Now her example may help other local activists do the same.

How one woman fought one of the world’s biggest oil companies — and won

How One Woman Took On Shell To Save Her Town

Norco, Louisiana is named after the New Orleans Refinery Company, which built a highly polluting refinery there in the early 20th century. The Allegheny Fronts Reid Frazier tells the story of Norco resident, Margie Richard, who went all the way to the UN to protect her towns public health.

How One Woman Took On Shell To Save Her Town
Sediment from a stream bed containing fracking wastewater (jars on the left) developed orange residues after 90 days; sediment from a clean stream bed (jar on the right) did not.

As fracking booms, waste spills rise — and so do arsenic levels in groundwater

Wastewater created by fracking contains many toxic elements and chemicals that can contaminate groundwater. The good news? Microbes in the soil feast on the metals and help clean up the spill. The bad news? This process can release high levels of arsenic into the groundwater.

As fracking booms, waste spills rise — and so do arsenic levels in groundwater

Arsenic Released in Frackwater Spills

Frackwater contains many toxic elements and chemicals. Allegheny Fronts Reid Fraizer reports that when it spills into the environment, microbesnatures decomposersstart to clean it up, but in the process they sometimes release arsenic, which can contaminate groundwater. And the cost of correcting leaks from wastewater impoundments is adding up.

Arsenic Released in Frackwater Spills
Water treatment tub in PA

Can fracking solve the problem of polluted mine water in Pennsylvania?

If there is anything people in Pennsylvania can agree on, it is that no one can agree whether the fracking boom has been a blessing or a curse for the state. A now a proposal to use abandoned mine water for tracking is causing more confusion and concern.

Can fracking solve the problem of polluted mine water in Pennsylvania?
The World

Fracking in PA

Fracking often gets blamed for water problems, but it's not a clear cut case

In Pennsylvania, residents are struggling with lack of drinkable well water. People often point to the controversial practice of "fracking" as the culprit, but scientists haven't found much evidence that gas drilling is to blame — at least not yet.

Fracking often gets blamed for water problems, but it's not a clear cut case