Luckey Private Water Testing Results Show Water is Safe to Drink

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: ODH Office of Communications 614-644-8562

(LUCKEY, Ohio) - Independent analysis of samples from private water systems in Luckey collected by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) confirmed that the systems met all Ohio and federal safe drinking water standards.

ODH conducted the sampling in response to reports earlier this year in the Toledo Blade about potential radioactive contamination thought to be migrating from the former beryllium production facility that is undergoing remediation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

ODH, which regulates private water systems, contracted with Tetra Tech to collect samples from five private systems in different areas of the village of Luckey. The samples were analyzed by Alliance Technical Group of Akron, which is certified by Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) for drinking water analysis.

Alliance Technical Group looked for 24 contaminants. The laboratory identified no beryllium, bismuth-214, cobalt-60, or radium 226 in any of the samples. Radon gas was detected in two of the five samples but at levels that were far less than what is considered unsafe.

"After the Toledo Blade stories questioned the safety of the water in and around Luckey, we took action to determine if there were any health concerns," said ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA. "The results that ODH has received from its private water system sampling, combined with the Ohio EPA's results from public systems, do not point to any health risks and are very reassuring."

Ohio EPA, which oversees public water systems, in June announced that results of its sampling of nine public drinking water systems in Luckey and Pemberville found the systems met all safe drinking water standards.

If you have questions regarding your private water system or laboratory results, please contact the ODH Residential Water Program at (614) 644-7558 or by email at [email protected].

Summary of ODH Testing Results

The following substances were highlighted in The Toledo Blade's report:

Beryllium

Luckey is near the site of a former beryllium production facility undergoing long-term remediation by USACE. Testing results from the Toledo Blade, ODH, and Ohio EPA all found no beryllium in drinking water.

Bismuth-214

Bismuth-214 is a naturally occurring radioactive substance. In Ohio, it is normal to find small amounts of bismuth-214 in water, however ODH's water samples did not find any presence of bismuth-214.

Bismuth-214 is formed as part of the "uranium decay chain." Uranium is naturally occurring; its natural decay process creates radium, radium decays to radon, and radon decays to bismuth-214.

While The Toledo Blade did report some of their water samples had high levels of bismuth-214, the state would also expect to see high levels of radon and/or radium accompanying any high levels of bismuth due to the process by which uranium decays. No samples from ODH, Ohio EPA, or the newspaper showed high levels of radon or radium.

Due to the variables involved, including collection procedure and quality control, it is impossible for ODH to know why The Toledo Blade's bismuth-214 water analysis differed significantly from ODH's results. However, ODH has confidence in its own collection methods and quality standards necessary to receive accurate test results and finds no reason to believe that high levels of bismuth-214 exist in the area's public drinking water systems.

Cobalt-60

The Toledo Blade's initial water testing found traces of cobalt-60, a manmade radioactive material.

While the low levels detected would not pose a health risk, ODH agrees with the newspaper's assertion that the presence of any cobalt-60 in local water would be highly abnormal. Because neither The Toledo Blade's confirmatory testing nor the state's independent testing detected cobalt-60, the state believes that the initial cobalt-60 findings were likely false positives.

Radium-226

Radium-226 is a naturally occurring element in soil that releases radioactivity as it decays. Small amounts of this substance in water are normal in Ohio. None of ODH's water samples contained Radium-226.

Radon-222

Radon-222 is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is a product of radium-226's decay. Small amounts of radon-222 in water are normal in Ohio. Radon-222 was detected at very low levels - well beneath safe drinking water standards -- in two of ODH's water samples; however, radon-222 is challenging to measure in water because it quickly dissipates into the air.

While radon-222 was also not detected in The Toledo Blade's samples, the newspaper used a "back calculation" to estimate potential amounts of radon-222 in the water based on the total amount of bismuth-214 detected. The state does not recommend estimating contamination levels due to the many variables involved.

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