Open Source: Is there radioactive brine or salt on my roads?

MOUNT VERNON — For those living in Mount Vernon, the short answer is no, radioactive brine is not being used here.

But, that might not be the case in other parts of Ohio.

A reader mentioned a video circulating on social media about townships in Coshocton and Licking Counties allegedly using brine with radioactive properties to de-ice roads, and also asked if other areas do the same.

Knox Pages was unable to identify exactly what social media post the reader was referencing, but after further research, was able to find credible information about radioactive brine previously used on roadways across Ohio.

In 2021, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) banned the purchase/usage of a radioactive brine-like solution called AquaSalina. However, this ban did not translate to local municipalities.

According to the Ohio House of Representatives’ website, there is currently legislation that is awaiting a bill number and committee assignment that would ban local municipalities from using AquaSalina.

For at least the last six years, the City of Mount Vernon has not used brine to treat local roadways not handled by ODOT, Director of Public Works Tom Hinkle said.

A few key things to keep in mind here:

• Not all brine contains radioactive properties, this will be explained further below. Brines, like AquaSalina, that contain oil and gas waste can contain carcinogens such as Radium-226 and Radium-228.
• While the City of Mount Vernon does not use brine at the moment, other townships in Knox County may still use faulty solutions. However, Hinkle said to his knowledge, other townships aren’t using brine at the moment.

So, what kind of brine does ODOT use now?

Driving down the highway with a looming snow or ice storm in the area, one may see ODOT’s brine trucks waiting in medians.

So, what’s in that big jug in the back of the truck?

Using ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning’s words, “Water and salt.”

“[The solution is mixed] until it is 23% salt and 77% tap water. That’s it, that’s the only two ingredients.”

Bruning added that when temperatures drop below 20 degrees, salt is less effective as a de-icer.

“So, we have to mix in things like calcium chloride. We sometimes use magnesium chloride,” Bruning said.

“Sometimes we use a product called beet, which is a derivative of beet molasses. It’s basically the vegetable. It uses the sugars and different things from the vegetable beet, and lowers the freezing points.”

No — calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and beets are not dangerously radioactive.

Getting more technical, like all natural foods, beets contain small traces of radioactive isotopes, but this isn’t concerning.

“There’s another product out there called Apex-C, which is kind of the same thing [as calcium chloride]. All of these things will be added [to the brine] only when those temperatures get really cold,” Bruning said.

“None of them are radioactive.”

See how ODOT makes brine in the video below, starting at 1:05.

Bruning said crews typically use brine during the pre-treat process.

He noted that shooting it onto roadways is easier/more precise than rock salt. This alleviates a lot of spillage making its way into places other than roadways.

According to ODOT’s winter media center, crews have used 352,804 tons of salt and 7,762,149 gallons of de-icer so far this winter as of Jan. 5.

Mount Vernon’s future brine plans

While Hinkle and his street department team aren’t using brine right now, there are future plans to possibly use it this winter before the right storm hits.

When Knox Pages covered this winter’s first large snowstorm, Hinkle noted that his department was looking to fit one of its trucks with a new brine tank insert.

Back when the city used brine years ago, it simply sprayed the solution on top of rock salt and flung the salt onto the road, according to Hinkle.

Additionally, having worked in different jobs within the street department over the years, Hinkle said he had no knowledge of the city ever using AquaSalina or other potentially radioactive brines back when it did use the solution.

Fast forwarding to today, Mount Vernon’s future brine system will almost mirror what ODOT currently does.

“With this new system, it’ll be like what ODOT uses, which is pre-treat,” Hinkle said. “We haven’t used this insert yet this year, but when we do, we are planning on purchasing our mixture from ODOT.”

Now that the snow has melted for the moment, Hinkle’s crews completed its last leaf pickups and put the new brine tank into the leaf pickup truck.

Just over the Jan. 18-19 weekend, a crew manned the new brine truck for a pre-treat test run and plan to use the truck for Saturday and Sunday’s incoming storm.

The city’s future brine plans don’t stop there.

“We’re building a new salt barn over where the street [department’s] garage is, it’s actually in construction now,” Hinkle said.

“In the near future, we do plan on buying the equipment to meld our own salt and make our own salt solution.”