Federal standards needed for toxic coal ash
Did you know that U.S. coal-fired power plants create more than 130 million tons of toxic coal ash annually, and there are no specific federal regulations governing its disposal?
The Environmental Protection Agency can change that by labeling coal ash as hazardous material and offering communities protection from this toxic substance. At present, however, the EPA has regulated this threat to the nation’s health as if it were household garbage going to a landfill.
This is a national threat, because there are more than 580 coal ash sites across the country, with the closest one being in Hennepin.
Coal ash contains arsenic, selenium, lead, mercury, cadmium, boron, thallium and aluminum – all of which can leach into groundwater, causing various cancers, brain damage, kidney problems, and radiation poisoning, besides the reproductive problems these toxins cause in fish and other animals living in proximity to power plants and where coal ash has spilled into rivers and streams.
The property damage, alone, to residents in eastern Tennessee from a huge tidal wave of coal ash sludge is devastating.
The EPA must create federally enforceable minimum standards, issue permits, conduct inspections, and enforce regulations for coal combustion wastes. Once all of this is done, maybe we might be a little closer to “clean coal.” Or will we?
