ToxStrategies scientists William Rish, LeeAnn Racz, and Alan Hale have published a new study examining potential radiation exposure from using wastewater from conventional gas wells—also known as brine—as a winter road deicer.
The brine is effective at melting ice but naturally contains small amounts of radium (Ra-226 and Ra-228), a radioactive element. To understand any potential risks to public health, the researchers looked at two scenarios:
- Recreational activity on roadside soil where brine has been repeatedly applied.
- A home with a farm built on the same brine-affected soil.
Using samples from six gas wells in northern Ohio, the team modeled long-term radiation exposure for adults and teens—the groups most likely to receive the highest exposure.
Even using conservative assumptions, the results showed that potential radiation levels from use of the brine were well within safety limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In fact, the predicted exposure was lower than what people typically receive from natural background radiation in everyday life.
The study concluded that using conventional gas-well brine as a road deicer does not pose a meaningful radiation risk to the public, even with regular seasonal use.
Read the full study: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10962247.2025.2565287