Researchers in Ohio are collecting baby teeth and toenail clippings to study the health effects of oilfield brine on local communities. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Oilfield brine, a byproduct of oil and gas development, is applied on roads in some townships in Licking County to melt ice and control dust. However, its radioactive contents are known to cause serious health issues. Researchers from Ohio State University want to understand how exposure to oilfield brine could impact the long-term health of people living in communities where it is spread.
The study covers parts of Licking, Coshocton, and Ashtabula counties. Dr. Arbor Quist, an environmental epidemiologist and assistant professor at OSU, is the principal investigator. She has been working on health effects of oil and gas development for the past decade. The project is just starting this summer, and work in Licking County is also just beginning.
The research involves collecting data through toenail clippings, naturally shed baby teeth, and soil samples. Adults who have lived in Licking County for the past 12 months are eligible to donate toenail clippings. For baby teeth, the child must have lived in the county during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy and during their first year of life. Participants receive gift cards.
Oilfield brine is not just an issue in Licking County. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources studied brine from 107 wells across 26 counties and 10 formations. All were considered too radioactive to discharge into the environment, according to the Ohio Administrative Code.
Quist helped create an interactive map using an AI pipeline to sort data on where oilfield brine is spread on roads across the state. Chronic exposure to high levels of radium, like that found in wellfield brine, can result in an increased incidence of bone, liver, or breast cancer, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Radium is chemically similar to calcium, so bones absorb it as if it were calcium. As radium decays, it creates radon, a colorless, odorless gas that is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the country. Licking County is considered "ground zero" for radon in the United States, according to a 2025 investigation from The Columbus Dispatch.
Jacque Morgan, a concerned Licking County resident advocating to ban oilfield brine on roadways, said rain can wash radium into gardens, streams, and water. Spreading radioactive oilfield brine has been legal in Ohio since 1985. Since the late 1800s, more than 100,000 conventional wells have been drilled in eastern Ohio.
Activists like Morgan and the Buckeye Environmental Network are fighting to change that. Ohio Senate Bill 329 would ban the practice of spreading well brine on roads. The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee had a second hearing on the bill in February, but no action since. Morgan said they met with Sen. Tim Shaffer, who represents Fairfield, Licking, and Perry counties.