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SIGN THE PETITION NOW

ASK THE MEDINA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO PROTECT OUR WATER We have chosen Medina County for its nature, trees and open spaces. Some Ohio Legislators sponsored bills that would allow RADIOACTIVE oil and gas waste (BRINE) to be used for de-icing or dust suppressant on our roads and to be sold as a commodity. To protect our air and water for the families, pets and agricultural animals of Medina County,

Please contact the Commissioners and ask them to pass the below Resolution.
Stephen D. Hambley - shambley@ohmedinaco.org
Colleen M. Swedyk - cswedyk@ohmedinaco.org
William F. Hutson- whutson@ohmedinaco.org
Medina County Commissioners 330-722-9208 144 North Broadway,
Medina 44256

RESOLUTION OPPOSING HOUSE BILL 282 AND SENATE BILL 171
Whereas; Medina County Commissioners are aware of Ohio Department of Natural Resources tests confirming dangerously high levels of radium 226 and 228 in oil and gas "brine" from conventional and unconventional oil and gas production wells; and

Whereas; oil and gas waste are used on some Ohio roads as a deicer and dust suppressant, as a result the oil and gas waste may enter the soil, be tracked into homes and/or become airborne radioactive dust; and

Whereas; the passage of House Bill 282 and/or Senate Bill 171 would allow oil and gas waste to be sold as a retail product, without any requirement for testing for radioactivity or appropriate labeling concerning the possibility of radioactivity or other health hazards; and

Whereas; the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director, Mary Mertz, has stated "The passage of HB 282/SB 171 does not ensure the protection of public health and safety or the environment. Under HB 282/SB 171, this commodity would be exempt from any and all references to brine in the law. By creating this commodity exemption, the legislation creates public safety concerns by doing all the following:
- Eliminates the requirement for a person or entity who wishes to spread brine deemed a commodity to notify their local board of county commissioners;
- Eliminates the requirement that local governments who wish to spread brine deemed a commodity on the roads they own or control to first vote to adopt a resolution;
- Eliminates the requirement to use registered brine haulers for the surface application of oilfield brines;
- Eliminates the requirements of bonding and insurance for liability and surety purposes that is required of brine haulers: and
- Eliminates all regulatory authority over oilfield wastes that would be classified as a "commodity," including tracking and safety protection;" and

Whereas; the Medina County Commissioners recognize that clean water and air are essential for the life, prosperity, sustainability and the health of our community and that damage to water, air and property causes tangible loss to health, property and the life of individuals, agricultural animals, pets, communities and ecosystems; further we take seriously our responsibility to protect our citizen.

Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Medina County Commissioners hereby oppose HB 282 and SB 171 and we respectfully request that the chairs of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee not bring those bills to a vote in their respective committees, and further that HB 282 and/or SB 171 not become the law of Ohio.
*****

Concern over toxic de-icer on roads
There's growing opposition to a set of bills in the Ohio House and Senate that would allow for a potentially harmful ice melting product to be sold in retail stores.
Sunday, November 14th 2021, 11:43 AM EST
By Ben Pagani

There's growing opposition to a set of bills in the Ohio House and Senate that would allow for a potentially harmful ice melting product to be sold in retail stores. That product - AquaSalina - contains radioactive radium. "You don't want it on your roads, you don't want it in your house, you don't want it getting into things because you're going to end up ingesting this stuff," said Youngstown Fire Battalion Chief Silverio Caggiano. The substance can lead to health problems like bone cancer and liver cancer.

Brine Fact Sheet
by zensmallbiz | Aug 20, 2020 |

Brine is radioactive waste from oil and gas production. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has confirmed tests of dangerously high levels of radium 226 and 228 in brine from oil and gas production wells. Brine is used on some Ohio roads as a deicer and dust suppressant, where it may get into the soil, can be tracked into homes, or become airborne as radioactive dust and contaminate drinking water sources and agricultural products. Utilize the link below to print the fact sheet and share it with your community.

Visit; https://benohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/BRINE-FACTSHEET.pdf

Do you want oil and gas waste on your lawn?
What they spray on the roads does not stay on the roads, but rather washes off into our lawns. Drilling waste contains radioactive (Radium 226 & 228) substances, lead, and other harmful chemicals.

Do you want those getting into your groundwater? Your garden? Your lawn? I didn’t think so. And this is why we must act now. When we stand together and make our voices heard, we protect our communities from environmental hazard violate our basic human rights.

ODNR Tests confirm Highly Elevated Radioactivity Levels in Oilfield Brine used as Road Deicers

After being forced to use the Ohio Open Records law, Ohio environmentalists obtained testing results conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources that measured the radioactive content of oilfield brine. ODNR tested brine waste from three categories of oil and gas wells:

•   Brine that was produced from 118 Conventional wells drilled vertically to access shallow oil and gas deposits directly beneath them.
•   Brine that was produced from 25 Horizontal wells drilled to follow the deep geological layers of the shale deposits.
•   Brine that was produced from 8 Out-of-State wells and sent to Ohio for disposal.

These151 samples taken from 150 wells were tested for concentrations of Radium 226 and Radium 228

ODNR’s Own Testing Confirms what opponents of Ohio’s oil and gas development policies have said for decades:

Free Road Brine and Brine-based Deicers and Dust Suppressors use waste that is loaded with Cancer-Causing Radioactive Elements

Results from tests have revealed that this brine contains dangerously high levels of cancer inducing radioactivity. Radium 226 is especially treacherous because it is soluble in water. The human body treats it like calcium and deposits it into the skeleton where it causes painful debilitating tumors, broken bones and can metastasize into other parts of the body. About half of all bone cancers result in death.

Because radium is water soluble it can find its way into drinking water sources, especially in rural areas where water is drawn from shallow wells, ponds, creeks, and springs. Cash strapped townships are accepting this hazard because it is free and they have been led to believe it is safe by proponents of the Oil and Gas Industry.

The State of Ohio should immediately stop promoting this practice and begin providing all our townships with road salt funded by a tax on oil and gas operations. With the aid of policies, laws and regulations enacted by our legislators our counties have been stripped of local control and adequate funding. They have been reduced to colonies of the gas and oil industry. This brine spreading policy is a direct threat to the health of Ohio families.

Exposure to even low levels of radium can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, and breast cancer. The EPA and the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation, have stated that radium is a known human carcinogen.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources tests show combined Radium-226 and Radium-228 in all 151 well samples.
148 of these samples exceed the 120 pCi/L Environmental Discharge Limit.

All 151 samples tested exceed the federal drinking water standard of 5 pCi/L. (pCi/L = picocuries per Liter, a measure of radioactivity levels.)

All 25 Horizontal wells exceeded both the Environmental
Discharge Limits and the Federal Drinking Water Standards.

All 118 Conventional wells exceeded the Drinking Water Standard. 115 of these wells exceeded the Environmental Discharge Limits.

All 8 Out-of-state wells exceeded the Drinking Water Standard. 7 of the 8 wells exceeded the Environmental Discharge Limits.

High levels of radioactivity can do more damage to smaller people. The body of a small woman would be more susceptible to harm than to a large man and growing children would be most severely impacted. An expectant mother would face grave risks to her unborn child. Other risk factors can also result in certain individuals being more vulnerable than others to the effects of radiation.
ODNR has long maintained that brine spreading on roads is safe because the waste used is produced by conventional wells and not unconventional horizontal wells. The testing proves this is not true.

Once released into the environment Radium 226 remains dangerous for centuries. It has a half-life of 1600 years. This means that in the year 3619 any of this element that is spread today will still be emitting 50% of the radiation levels it is currently releasing. Radioactivity levels in one of the samples tested from a conventional well was over 78 times higher than permitted by the Environmental Discharge Levels. By 3619 it would still be 36 times higher than allowed by the Environmental Discharge Levels. Radium does not just disappear.

After brine has been spread on a paved road or sidewalk you can see the white precipitate that is left after the brine dries. This is the salt and other soluble elements that remain after the water evaporates. If the source of the brine was the Utica or the Marcellus Shale then based on the ODNR tests one of the soluble elements is Radium 226.

More information on Radioactive Brine
ARTICLE  America's Radioactive Secret
Justin Noble
Rolling Stone Magazine
January 21, 2002 - 7 Am ET

This article was released by Rolling Stone Magazine for publication on January of 2020. The author, Justin Noble, spent 20 months researching the impacts of oilfield waste on communities, on workers, and on the environment.
Video; https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/oil-gas-fracking-radioactive-investigation-937389/