The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is facing a lawsuit from an environmental group that alleges the department has illegally withheld public records.
The Athens-based Buckeye Environmental Network requested to view public records regarding oil and gas waste turned into a chemical product used by the Ohio Department of Transportation to deice roads, but its request was denied. The group says the chemicals are dangerous and harmful to the environment and that ODNR, which tests the chemical, would not allow the group to see the most recent tests on the product.
“We requested to review all records held by the agency in order to determine how and if the agency plans to take steps to remove this product from the consumer market. The product was found to contain high levels of both Radium 226 and 228. And with the pending legislation (House Bill 393 and Senate Bill 165) on this product, we believe that the public has a right to know how much radiation they have been or may be exposed to if they use this product,” executive director Teresa Mills said in a statement.
ODNR says it attempted to work with the environmental group through the records request process, but the group decided to pursue a lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.