BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — Concerns have been raised regarding radioactive waste at the Austin Master Services facility in Martins Ferry.
Residents spoke out during Wednesday morning’s Belmont County Commissioner’s meeting.
“It says right on their sign, ‘Austin Masters Radiologic Remediation Area’ so they are processing radioactive fracking waste,” Belmont County Resident Jill Hunkler said.
The business is located less than a mile from Purple Rider Stadium.
Hunkler said she’s afraid of the airborne exposure risks.
“It’s a very dangerous situation, not only for worker safety, but also for the community that they place these facilities in,” she said.
Hunkler also referenced a report from a Columbus newspaper citing problems found in inspections by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources with radioactive waste being stored on the floor.
“These reports from 2017 about Austin Masters, ODNR cites and has photographs of violations, but no enforcement or action has been taken,” Hunkler said.
ODNR said if a waste facility is found to be in violation of terms and conditions of the Chief’s Order, or Ohio laws, the division may take enforcement action.
No specific information was provided regarding this facility.
ODNR says 
“Saying” usually means nothing when it comes out of a politician or regulator or frac company mouth it will continue to diligently regulate all of Ohio’s oil and gas rules and laws and enforce Chief’s Orders authorizing oil and gas waste facility operations.
County commissioners are also working with ODNR on restructuring rules regarding new oil and gas sites. I expect deregulation to make poisoning the community with radioactive frac waste legal. Companies and regulators globally do not know what to do with their ever growing mountains of deadly waste, except deregulate and dump it, on us and in our communities.
“Part of those draft plans include looking specifically at what are the parameters in locating new sites, part of that is how far they are going to be from adjacent properties and structures,” Commissioner JP Dutton said.
Austin Master Services did not wish to comment on this story at this time.
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Refer also to:
2013: Nova Scotia: Colchester County Appeals Committee Unanimous Vote: Fracking waste water banned from Debert sewers, Atlantic Industrial Services wanted to dump 4.5 million litres of radioactive frac waste
2013: What to do with all the oil field dregs, some of it radioactive, some of it toxic, and there’s more and more of it
2013: Pennsylvania regulator allows radioactive, toxic drilling waste dumped as fill in city
2014: Dual Trucking suspected of dumping radioactive Bakken frac waste in Montana ordered to stop, but doesn’t, says waste will go to Canada
2014: Toxic Insanity: DEP issued permit to Range Resources for experimenting, adding radioactive waste to aggregate for paving well pads and access roads
2016: The Most Horrific Frac Deregulation Yet? US EPA preparing for “widespread” radioactive frac waste contamination of drinking water or because it’s already happened? EPA’s proposed “protective regulation” to allow dramatically higher levels of radioactivity in drinking water
2016: Didsbury Hell: Do ordinary Albertans pay to repair oil & gas industry damages to public roads caused by hauling hundreds of thousands of tonnes of contaminated oilfield waste? Radioactive? Toxic with secret chemicals, carcinogens, heavy metals, BTEX? Hold your breath if you live nearby.
2016: Alberta wildfires will leave toxic legacy, experts warn. What about the radioactive waste storage site near Ft McMurray?
2016: UK fracking firm plans to dump likely radioactive frac waste into the sea, Ineos company emails reveal huge amounts of frac waste need to be dumped, Legal update from Tina Louise, Opposition to UK fracking plans swells, Local democracy at stake
2019: Radioactive frac waste piling higher and higher; Groundwater used by families showing significant increases in radium. Montana regulator, DEQ, trying to increase radiation limit for frac waste up four times, four times more than allowed in any other state.
2019: Pennsylvania: Grant Township vs DEP legal battle over drilling & frac’ing waste water continues. “The waste contains radioactive material and unknown chemicals. The regulations are failing our people.” Of course they are, regulations were not designed to protect us, our communities and environment or drinking water, they are to protect polluters.
2019: Pennsylvania regulator allowing radioactive frac waste discharged into rivers as landfill leachate, Impacting Chesapeake Bay & Ohio River Watersheds
2020: Frac’ers’ Rule the Law? Oregon: Chemical Waste Management illegally dumped 2.5 million pounds radioactive frac waste from North Dakota company, Goodnight Midstream. Lucky law violators get no fine!
2020: Here an illegal radioactive frac waste dump, there an illegal radioactive frac waste dump, everywhere they lie ‘n dump dump dump, Encana/Ovintiv too, but in Kentucky a Federal Grand Jury slams down hard on illegal waste dumper
2020: USA oil & gas produced 1.02 trillion gallons wastewater in 2017 (2.8 billion gallons daily). “The fluid can be several times saltier than ocean water, and it can also be contaminated with drilling chemicals, minerals and radioactive material…. About 1% was reused…as drilling fluid or frack fluid.”
2020: America’s Radioactive Secret: Oil & gas wells produce nearly a trillion gallons of toxic waste a year in America. It could be making workers sick and contaminating communities (in Canada too). “Us bringing this stuff to the surface is like letting out the devil … It is just madness.”
2021: Ohio, Noble Co: Genesis Resources LLC gas well (unused for years) sprays out what is suspected to be toxic injected frac waste (radioactive?); Over two miles of fish kill. Chemical contents will most likely never be disclosed. In a similar incident in 2020, injected frac waste migrated more than five miles.
2021: Pennsylvania: Delmont-based Penneco Environmental Solutions’ frac waste injection rears secretive toxic radioactive head. Dr. Ned Ketyer: “Fracking has a toxic and radioactive waste problem that has never been adequately addressed and solved.”
