MARTINS FERRY, Ohio (WTRF) – When flooding plagued the Ohio Valley in April, it left more concerns for Martins Ferry residents than their personal belongings.
It left the risk of toxic materials to enter their water supply after Austin Master Services failed to clean up the illegal levels of hazardous waste in their facility, and residents have had increasing concerns.
Concerned Ohio River Residents, or CORR (CORE) brought in science journalist and author Justin Nobel to speak to the community about his extensive research into the oil and gas industry – focusing on the tri-state area.
He even interviewed a former employee of Austin Master Services in his book, Petroleum-238, and did live radioactive tests on this employee’s boots that he wore while working inside the facility.
”This industry was deceptive in the matter, that they did not inform them [employees] that this job that they were taking them into was handling radioactive oilfield sludge. It also enabled these workers to come in, often many of them still have drug problems. They weren’t drug tested at this job, and they’re maneuvering around radioactive oilfield waste in a way that it was splashing up on them. They were getting soaked in it. Their clothes were getting covered in this sludge. We were later able to get some of that sludge tested and learned that it’s wildly radioactive.”
Justin Nobel – Science Journalist, Author of Petroleum-238
”The particulates that go up into the air can easily be inhaled, and inhaling those low-level materials is really damaging because these are what they call alpha and beta emitting particles and they really do damage, especially internally, to lung tissue.”
Dr. Yuri Gorby – Doctor/Tested Radioactive Matter at Austin Master Services
The worker’s boots were cleaned before testing, and still tested 7 times higher than the legal limit for radiation.
CORR is urging those with concerns to reach out to ODNR representatives asking to never allow something like this to happen again.
The book, Petroleum-238 can be found anywhere books are
Read More: Science journalist presents research into toxic waste at Ohio oil and gas waste