Toxic mine pollution has turned Ohio rivers orange. Now it's being made into paint.

By Chelsea Lee, CNN

Updated 4:03 AM ET, Tue August 2, 2022

Pollution can be art, too. Two Ohio University professors -- artist John Sabraw (pictured) and environmental engineer Guy Riefler -- have teamed up with local NGO Rural Action to create artist-grade paints from iron oxide extracted from a mining pollutant called acid mine drainage.
Photos: Ohio's rust-colored rivers are being cleaned up by turning pollution into paint
Pollution can be art, too. Two Ohio University professors -- artist John Sabraw (pictured) and environmental engineer Guy Riefler -- have teamed up with local NGO Rural Action to create artist-grade paints from iron oxide extracted from a mining pollutant called acid mine drainage.
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Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the overflow of acidic wastewater from underground mines and has a high concentration of sulfuric acid and dissolved iron, which gives the runoff an orange coloring. Aquatic life struggles to survive in the acidic waters. Pictured, an AMD site in Oreton, Ohio.
Photos: Ohio's rust-colored rivers are being cleaned up by turning pollution into paint
Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the overflow of acidic wastewater from underground mines and has a high concentration of sulfuric acid and dissolved iron, which gives the runoff an orange coloring. Aquatic life struggles to survive in the acidic waters. Pictured, an AMD site in Oreton, Ohio.
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Starting in the 1800s, the coal mining industry provided economic opportunity for the state of Ohio. Many of these mines were later abandoned, resulting in environmental problems. Pictured, two miners at Willows Grove Mine, Ohio, May 1946.
Photos: Ohio's rust-colored rivers are being cleaned up by turning pollution into paint
Starting in the 1800s, the coal mining industry provided economic opportunity for the state of Ohio. Many of these mines were later abandoned, resulting in environmental problems. Pictured, two miners at Willows Grove Mine, Ohio, May 1946.
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Ohio's AMD contains high concentrations of iron oxide, a substance that can also be used in paints, ceramic tiles and makeup. After visiting an Ohio waterway affected by AMD, Sabraw was inspired to raise awareness of the environmental hazard and experimented with creating paints from AMD.
Photos: Ohio's rust-colored rivers are being cleaned up by turning pollution into paint
Ohio's AMD contains high concentrations of iron oxide, a substance that can also be used in paints, ceramic tiles and makeup. After visiting an Ohio waterway affected by AMD, Sabraw was inspired to raise awareness of the environmental hazard and experimented with creating paints from AMD.
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Sabraw and Riefler joined forces to create paint from the pollution. The project began with them collecting thousands of five-gallon buckets of AMD from a site in Corning, Ohio, with the help of grad students and volunteers.
Photos: Ohio's rust-colored rivers are being cleaned up by turning pollution into paint
Sabraw and Riefler joined forces to create paint from the pollution. The project began with them collecting thousands of five-gallon buckets of AMD from a site in Corning, Ohio, with the help of grad students and volunteers.
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Once collected, the acidic stream water is neutralized through a chemical process, producing orange iron oxide that is then dried and ground up into a pigment. Heating extracted iron oxide pigments in a kiln at various temperatures produces different colors. Determining the right temperature is one of the most challenging parts of the process, as the polluted water extracted each time may vary in acidity and quality, says Riefler.
Photos: Ohio's rust-colored rivers are being cleaned up by turning pollution into paint
Once collected, the acidic stream water is neutralized through a chemical process, producing orange iron oxide that is then dried and ground up into a pigment. Heating extracted iron oxide pigments in a kiln at various temperatures produces different colors. Determining the right temperature is one of the most challenging parts of the process, as the polluted water extracted each time may vary in acidity and quality, says Riefler.
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For a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project's pilot research facility, Sabraw and Riefler teamed up with paint company Gamblin in 2018 to create a limited run of artist-grade iron oxide paints called the "Reclaimed Earth Colors" set. Under their social enterprise True Pigments, the paints will be produced commercially at a full-scale facility, due to be operational in 2024.
Photos: Ohio's rust-colored rivers are being cleaned up by turning pollution into paint
For a Kickstarter campaign to fund the project's pilot research facility, Sabraw and Riefler teamed up with paint company Gamblin in 2018 to create a limited run of artist-grade iron oxide paints called the "Reclaimed Earth Colors" set. Under their social enterprise True Pigments, the paints will be produced commercially at a full-scale facility, due to be operational in 2024.
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