Officials to test water from Ohio village near Cold War-era weapons plant after newspaper probe
Authorities in Ohio plan to test the groundwater supply across a village near a former weapons plant after a newspaper investigation published Friday found high levels of radioactivity in samples taken at a school, athletic field, library and other sites.
The Army Corps of Engineers has been removing tons of contaminated soil from the Cold War-era site since 2018 and has long maintained that residential areas were not affected by the work.
However, The Blade in Toledo said its tests showed radioactivity levels 10 times higher than normal in water from a drinking fountain at Eastwood Middle School, 45 times higher than normal at the Luckey Library and 1,731 times higher than normal at a water pump near athletic fields.
'We've got to get to the bottom of this,' said Lt. Col. Robert Burnham, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Buffalo District, which oversees the cleanup.
Nineteen of the 39 samples collected by the newspaper from well water across Luckey — at homes, businesses, and public places — showed radioactivity at least 10 times greater than what the federal government calls normal for the area, the newspaper said. The Blade hired an accredited private lab to conduct the testing.
The radioactivity detected was primarily bismuth-214, which decays from the radioactive gas radon-222. Experts agree that high levels of bismuth-214 suggest high levels of radon are also present.
Radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers.
The testing also found low levels of radioactive cobalt-60, a man-made isotope, in two wells. Experts called that finding extremely rare.
Taehyun Roh, a Texas A&M University scientist who specializes in environmental exposures, said regulators should also conduct air and soil testing to assess the extent of the contamination and identify the source.
"Since this area likely has high radon levels, testing for radon in both air and water is advisable,' he wrote in an email. 'A safe drinking water advisory should be issued, recommending the use of bottled water until further assessments and mitigation measures are in place.'
The Corps of Engineers has long maintained that residential drinking water was not being contaminated by the removal work. Burnham and others said they still believe that to be true, citing thousands of their own soil samples.
The state Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health will lead the testing. In an email, Ohio EPA spokesperson Katie Boyer told the newspaper the contaminant levels in the public drinking water are still 'within acceptable drinking water standards.' She said any concerns raised by the state testing would be addressed.
The 44-acre industrial site — 22 miles (35 kilometers) south of Toledo — was long crucial to America's nuclear weapons program. In the 1940s, farmland was replaced by a sprawling defense plant that produced magnesium metal for the Manhattan Project. In the 1950s, the plant became the government's sole source of beryllium metal for nuclear bombs, Cold War missiles and Space Race products, including a heat shield for Project Mercury.
'Things that happened generations ago are still affecting us,' said Karina Hahn-Claydon, a 50-year-old teacher whose family lives less than a mile from the site. 'And that's because the government didn't take care of it.'
Private drinking wells, unlike municipal systems, are not regulated, and responsibility for testing is left to owners. The Blade's testing took place from April 2024 through January.
Radioactivity has been linked to an increased risk of various cancers, including blood and thyroid cancers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
7 hours ago
- Daily Record
How these beautiful Victorian books can cause liver damage and skin problems
Prolonged exposure to multiple volumes in a certain colour can be a health hazard - and there is an interesting explanation A deadly fashion trend from the 1800s is haunting modern libraries, as Victorian-era books laced with poisonous pigments continue to pose a hidden risk to readers and staff. During the 19th century, a striking emerald green, made by mixing copper with arsenic, was all the rage. It coloured everything from wallpaper to children's toys, and even made its way into sweets. But one of its most lasting legacies can be found on the shelves of historic libraries. Bookbinders of the Victorian era used arsenic, mercury, and chrome to craft vibrant covers designed to catch the eye. While many other items from the time have vanished, these books remain, creating a very 21st century health hazard. Prolonged exposure to multiple green-bound volumes can lead to low-level arsenic poisoning. Over time, this can cause damage to the liver and kidneys, skin problems, anaemia and a weakened immune system. In 2019, the Poison Book Project launched in Delaware, with experts from the Winterthur Museum and Delaware's state university teaming up to investigate. They identified several toxic titles, including four in the National Library of France, which were immediately removed from public access. Inspired by their work, preservative conservator Erica Kotze at the University of St Andrews decided to take action. She reached out to her colleague Dr Pilar Gil, a trained biochemist working in Special Collections, to find a safer and more practical method of identifying dangerous volumes. "The most important thing was to find a non-destructive, portable instrument that could tell us if it was a poisonous book or not," Dr Gil told the BBC. X-ray technology was ruled out due to the fragility of the books. Instead, she borrowed a spectrometer from the university's geology department, typically used to detect minerals in rocks. After testing hundreds of books, Dr Gil noticed a distinctive pattern. 'It was a 'eureka' moment. I realised it was something that no one had seen before.' The team then partnered with the physics department to create a bespoke testing tool. Dr Graham Bruce, senior research laboratory manager, describes how it works: 'It shines light on the book and measures the amount of light which shines back. "It uses green light, which can be seen, and infrared, which can't be seen with our own eyes. The green light flashes when there are no fragments of arsenic present, the red light when there are pigments.' Smaller, cheaper and faster than a full spectrometer, the new device has already been used to test thousands of books at both St Andrews and the National Library of Scotland. The aim now is to share the technology with libraries and museums worldwide. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 'We're lucky as a large institution to have expensive kit,' says Dr Jessica Burge, deputy director of library and museums at St Andrews. 'But other institutions with big collections may not have those resources, so we wanted to create something which was affordable and easy. It doesn't require a specialist conservator or analysis, and it's instant.' As time passes, the risk may only increase, with toxic books breaking down and releasing more of their hazardous particles. The goal is not to lock these books away forever, but to handle them safely and preserve access for future generations. Dr Burge adds: 'Any book that's got a green cover from the 19th century is being restricted because they don't know. And as libraries and museums, that's not really what we're about. We want people to be able to use the books and help bring back access to collections, rather than restricting their use.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Multiple earthquakes hit Nevada military base known for testing nuclear weapons
Multiple earthquakes hit just miles outside of a military base in Nevada, which played a significant role in America's nuclear bomb testing. The US Geological Survey (USGS) detected three tremors on Thursday with a 3.3 hitting at 9:52am ET about 14 miles northeast from Nellis Air Force Base, which was followed by two smaller tremors just minutes later. Nellis Air Force Base tested US nuclear weapons from the 1950s until 1992 due to the end of the Cold War and as a way for America to lead by example and encourage other nations to stop such testing as well. There was also strong public opposition due to environmental damage and health risks from previous tests, especially from fallout in areas like Nevada and the Pacific, which led to the decision. The USGS received reports of shaking as far west as Las Vegas, but no injuries or damages have been reported. An assessment from Michigan Tech University showed that people typically do not feel quakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or less. Those from 2.5 to 5.4 are often felt but only cause minor damage. This is a developing story... More updates to come
NBC News
5 days ago
- NBC News
Texas hospital that discharged woman with doomed pregnancy broke the law, inquiry finds
WASHINGTON — A Texas hospital that repeatedly sent a woman who was bleeding and in pain home without ending her nonviable, life-threatening pregnancy violated the law, according to a newly released federal investigation. The government's findings, which have not been previously reported, were a small victory for 36-year-old Kyleigh Thurman, who ultimately lost part of her reproductive system after being discharged after receiving no help from her hometown emergency room for her dangerous ectopic pregnancy. But a new policy the Trump administration announced Tuesday has thrown into doubt the federal government's stance on hospitals' denying women emergency abortions, even when they are at risk for serious infection, organ loss or severe hemorrhaging. Thurman had hoped the federal government's investigation, which was concluded last year and issued a report in April, would send a clear message that ectopic pregnancies must be treated by hospitals in Texas, which has one of the nation's strictest abortion bans. 'I didn't want anyone else to have to go through this,' Thurman said in an interview with the Associated Press from her Texas home this week. 'I put a lot of the responsibility on the state Uncertainty regarding emergency abortion access Women around the country have been denied emergency abortions for their life-threatening pregnancies after states swiftly enacted abortion restrictions in response to a 2022 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, which includes three appointees of President Donald Trump. The guidance issued by the Biden administration in 2022 was an effort to preserve access to emergency abortions for extreme cases in which women were in medical emergencies. It directed hospitals — even ones in states with severe restrictions — to provide abortions in those emergency cases. If hospitals did not comply, they would be in violation of a federal law and risk losing some federal funds. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the law and inspecting hospitals, announced on Tuesday it would revoke the Biden-era guidance around emergency abortions. CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a social media post on Wednesday that the revocation of the policy would not prevent pregnant women from getting treatment in medical emergencies. 'The Biden Administration created confusion, but EMTALA is clear and the law has not changed: women will receive care for miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and medical emergencies in all fifty states—this has not and will never change in the Trump Administration,' Oz wrote, using the acronyms for the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The law, which remains intact and requires doctors to provide stabilizing treatment, was one of the few ways that Thurman was able to hold the emergency room accountable after she didn't receive any help from staff at Ascension Seton Williamson in Round Rock, Texas, in February 2023, a few months after Texas enacted its strict abortion ban. An ectopic pregnancy left untreated Emergency room staff observed that Thurman's hormone levels had dropped, a pregnancy was not visible in her uterus and a structure was blocking her fallopian tube — all telltale signs of an ectopic pregnancy, when a fetus implants outside of the uterus and has no room to grow. If left untreated, ectopic pregnancies can rupture, causing organ damage, hemorrhage or even death. Thurman, however, was sent home and given a pamphlet on miscarriage for her first pregnancy. She returned three days later, still bleeding, and was given an injected drug intended to end the pregnancy, but it was too late. Days later, she showed up again at the emergency room, hemorrhaging because the fertilized egg growing on Thurman's fallopian tube ruptured it. She underwent an emergency surgery that removed part of her reproductive system. CMS launched its investigation of how Ascension Seton Williamson handled Thurman's case late last year, shortly after she filed a complaint. Investigators concluded the hospital failed to give her a proper medical screening exam, including an evaluation with an OB-GYN. The hospital violated the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which requires emergency rooms to provide stabilizing treatment to all patients. Thurman was 'at risk for deterioration of her health and wellbeing as a result of an untreated medical condition,' the investigation said in its report, which was publicly released last month. Ascension, a vast hospital system that has facilities across multiple states, did not respond to questions about Thurman's case, saying only that it is 'is committed to providing high-quality care to all who seek our services.' Penalties for doctors, hospital staff Doctors and legal experts have warned that abortion restrictions like the one Texas enacted have discouraged emergency room staff from aborting dangerous and nonviable pregnancies, even when a woman's life is imperiled. The stakes are especially high in Texas, where doctors face up to 99 years in prison if convicted of performing an illegal abortion. Lawmakers in the state are weighing a law that would remove criminal penalties for doctors who provide abortions in certain medical emergencies. 'We see patients with miscarriages being denied care, bleeding out in parking lots. We see patients with nonviable pregnancies being told to continue those to term,' said Molly Duane, an attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights that represented Thurman. 'This is not, maybe, what some people thought abortion bans would look like, but this is the reality.' The Biden administration routinely warned hospitals that they needed to provide abortions when a woman's health was in jeopardy, even suing Idaho over its state law that initially prohibited nearly all abortions, unless a woman's life was on the line. Questions remain about hospital investigations But CMS' announcement on Tuesday raises questions about whether such investigations will continue if hospitals do not provide abortions for women in medical emergencies. The agency said it will still enforce the law, 'including for identified emergency medical conditions that place the health of a pregnant woman or her unborn child in serious jeopardy.' While states like Texas have clarified that ectopic pregnancies can legally be treated with abortions, the laws do not provide for every complication that might arise during a pregnancy. Several women in Texas have sued the state for its law, which has prevented women from terminating pregnancies in cases where their fetuses had deadly fetal anomalies or they went into labor too early for the fetus to survive. Thurman worries pregnant patients with serious complications still won't be able to get the help they may need in Texas emergency rooms. 'You cannot predict the ways a pregnancy can go,' Thurman said. 'It can happen to anyone, still. There's still so many ways in which pregnancies that aren't ectopic can be deadly.'
