Dear Debra Shore, USEPA Region 5 Administrator,

Due to an abundance of concern regarding the current and potential threats to our water source and air quality, we, the undersigned, request that the USEPA completes a Preliminary Assessment and Visual Site Inspection of the industrial facility location at 1001 Main Street, Martins Ferry, Ohio immediately. The following letter outlines the reasons why we believe a full investigation is warranted and a list of elected representatives, health professionals, advocacy groups, and citizens who have signed on also accompanies this letter.

In July 2021, citizens obtained inspection reports from 4K Industrial (4K) and Austin Master Services (AMS) that showed concerning issues that appeared to be ongoing at the sites, including improper containment, water and waste being tracked around the facility and exiting the building, leaking tanks, and a leaking roof. Citizens continued looking into the situation and eventually held meetings with ODNR and EPA. The agencies tasked with regulating these radioactive oil and gas waste facilities left citizens without proper confidence that they were being protected, especially since the drinking water source for over 10,000 people is just 1,000 feet away from the facilities. Citizens collected samples of the surface sediments near the facility and had them tested at a certified laboratory. The results were concerning, and over 10 x’s background level radiation and nearly 3 x’s the upper limit for Superfund Site cleanup status for radiation. ODNR has never done environmental testing at the site.

Citizens also received information from AMS’s water monitoring wells within the water aquifer, and those results showed elevated levels of radioactivity and heavy metals. There are various basements at the facilities. Residents are concerned that those basements could be a medium in which contaminants could travel into the aquifer. ODNR nor Ohio EPA inspect the basements.

The site was previously a steel manufacturing facility for decades. It emitted millions of tons of contaminants during its time. The EPA found dangerously high levels of hexavalent chromium in 2008 in the trenches and the groundwater when a Visual Site Inspection was done. Note that each time the company cleaned the chromium contamination/sludge from the trenches, it kept filling up again. We’re concerned the contamination could be moving within our aquifer. The EPA was forced to obtain a warrant to do the inspection and a US Marshall had to accompany the agency during the visit. The company never properly closed the site and it was deemed a waste-in-place closure. Waste-in-place closures require that sites are not disturbed and that monitoring is done for at least 30 years. 4K bought the property in 2012. Despite OEPA citing 4K for the outstanding closure agreement violations, 4K has not properly satisfied the corrective action monitoring, leaving the status of the contamination within our drinking water source unknown.

Due to the concerning combination of the historical and current known contamination at this site and due to the shallow, vulnerable drinking water aquifer and town nearby, and the current threat to the air quality, the undersigned supports the USEPA in a thorough investigation of the site, including a Preliminary Assessment and Visual Site Inspection, which includes a thorough environmental testing of the entire area, in order to determine if this site should designated as a Superfund Site. The last Site Inspection was conducted over 15 years ago and a new one is warranted at this time.

Thank you for your consideration,