The article actually picks up on that but the other way around: "There is a perception that because the radioactivity is naturally occurring it’s less harmful

The article actually picks up on that but the other way around: "There is a perception that because the radioactivity is naturally occurring it’s less harmful (the industry and regulators almost exclusively call oil-and-gas waste NORM — naturally occurring radioactive material, or TENORM for the “technologically enhanced” concentrations of radioactivity that accumulate in equipment like pipes and trucks)."