Austin Master Services announces latest groundwater well monitoring results | News, Sports, Jobs
MARTINS FERRY – Austin Master Services, an environmental services firm specializing in radioactive waste remediation, announced the latest groundwater monitoring test results from its Martins Ferry facility.
The results show no concern for the local water aquifer and highlight the impact made by previous industrial production processes carried out at the site, the company said in a press release.
Groundwater monitoring is conducted using a network of four monitoring wells located around the Martins Ferry facility. Austin Master Services installed three of the wells in 2015, while the fourth well was installed by the facility’s previous owner. Wells have bottom depths of 33.6 to 37.3 feet below the ground surface.
From March 2016 to December 2019 Austin Master Services conducted on-site well tests by company-trained personnel.
In September 2021, Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. of Columbus, Ohio, was hired to conduct the semi-annual sampling.
According to the report, “sampling results to date indicate that water quality in the vicinity of the facility has been significantly affected by historic steel mill operations in the area” and “the groundwater chemistry in these wells is more typical of what would be expected in the Ohio River floodplain. There is no evidence that the facility’s (Austin Master Services) operations have caused groundwater degradation.”
The purpose of the sampling program is to determine specific levels of oilfield fluids associated with Austin Master Services’ operations. Oilfield fluids typically include items such as produced water and damaged water from hydraulic stimulation and contain specific ratios of bromine.
According to the report, “the absence of bromine in the initial samples that were collected suggests a possible road salt origin for the chlorides in these wells” as previously reported. Bromide was analyzed in the initial sampling in 2015. No bromide was detected in samples from the most recent sampling.
Another byproduct of oil field fluids is the presence of Radium 226 and Radium 228.
According to the report, “Radium 226 and 228, which are commonly associated with fluids generated by oil and gas operations, were consistently within normal concentration ranges for groundwater.”
To address any unofficial sampling results, the report states, “Since the activity of Radium 226 and Radium 228 is within normal limits, it is assumed that the elevated gross alpha, similar to the heavy metals discussed above (within the report), is a artificial. object presented as a result of poor sampling procedures that resulted in sediment in the samples.
“The test results support the fact that Austin Master Services is operating safely,” said Chris Martin, spokesman for Austin Master Services. “We now have evidence that past operations on this site may be the driving factor for false claims against our company. Austin Master Services will continue to operate and serve the oil and gas industry throughout Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.”
A copy of the groundwater well monitoring test is available on the Austin Master Services resource page – austinmasterservices.com/resource-area/groundwater-report/.
Austin Master Services will continue to conduct groundwater monitoring samples and release the results when they are available, the company noted.
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