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Coal waste
From SourceWatch
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This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch, a project of CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy. |
Coal mining and coal combustion in power plants produce several types of wastes:
- The mining process itself produces waste coal or solid mining refuse, which is a mixture of coal and rock.
- The mining process also produces liquid coal waste, which is then stored in impoundments.[1]
- Pollution control equipment used for coal combustion produces coal ash or fly ash, as well as flue-gas desulfurization (FGD), a wet solid residue created by sulfur dioxide scrubbers.
Forms of waste from coal mining and combustion
Waste coal
According to the Department of Energy, waste coal is "Usable material that is a byproduct of previous coal processing operations. Waste coal is usually composed of mixed coal, soil, and rock (mine waste). Most waste coal is burned as-is in unconventional fluidized-bed combustors. For some uses, waste coal may be partially cleaned by removing some extraneous noncombustible constituents. Examples of waste coal include fine coal, coal obtained from a refuse bank or slurry dam, anthracite culm, bituminous gob, and lignite waste."[2] Waste coal is referred to as "culm" in the Eastern Pennsylvania anthracite fields and as "gob" or "boney" in the bituminous coal mining regions.[3]
Liquid coal waste
Before burning, coal is crushed and washed, creating waste water filled with toxins. Another form of liquid coal waste is acidic mine runoff. Both forms of liquid coal waste are disposed of in a landfill at the mine site. Each year coal preparation creates waste water containing an estimated 13 tons of mercury, 3236 tons of arsenic, 189 tons of beryllium, 251 tons of cadmium, and 2754 tons of nickel, and 1098 tons of selenium.[4]
Coal ash and scrubber sludge
The 1.05 billion tons of coal burned each year in the United States contain 109 tons of mercury, 7884 tons of arsenic, 1167 tons of beryllium, 750 tons of cadmium, 8810 tons of chromium, 9339 tons of nickel, and 2587 tons of selenium. On top of emitting 1.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, coal-fired power plants in the United States also create 120 million tons of toxic waste. That means each of the nation's 500 coal-fired power plants produces an average 240,000 tons of toxic waste each year. A power plant that operates for 40 years will leave behind 9.6 million tons of toxic waste.[4] This coal combustion waste (CCW) constitutes the nation's second largest waste stream after municipal solid waste.[5]
When coal is burned, toxins in the coal are released into the smokestack. With modern air pollution controls, airborne toxins are captured through filtration systems before they can become airborne, and contained in a fine ash called coal ash, fly ash, or coal combustion waste. As a result, heavy metals such as mercury are concentrated in what the EPA considers "recycled air pollution control residue."[6]
Coal ash contains large quantities of toxic metals, including 44 tons of mercury, 4601 tons of arsenic, 970 tons of beryllium, 496 tons of cadmium, 6275 tons of chromium, 6533 tons of nickel, and 1305 tons of selenium.[4] In 2006, coal plants in the United States produced almost 72 million tons of fly ash, up 50 percent since 1993.[6]
Sulfur dioxide scrubbers also create coal waste. The flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) process creates a wet solid residue containing calcium sulfite (CaSO3) and calcium sulfate (CaSO4). Often dry material such as fly ash is added to stabilize the sludge for transport and landfill storage.[7]
Landfills
Most often coal waste is disposed of in landfills or "surface impoundments," which are lined with compacted clay soil, a plastic sheet, or both. As rain filters through the toxic ash pits year after year, the toxic metals are leached out and pushed downward by gravity towards the lining and the soil below. An EPA study found that all liners eventually degrade, crack or tear, meaning that all landfills eventually leak and release their toxins into the local environment.[8][9] In a best case scenario, the EPA study determined that a 10-acre landfill would leak 0.2 to 10 gallons per day, or between 730 and 36,500 gallons over a ten-year period, an amount guaranteed to infiltrate the drinking water supply.[8]
Accidents and contamination
Study shows all coal ash ponds in N.C. are contaminating groundwater
In October 2009, Appalachian Voices released an analysis of monitoring data from coal waste ponds at 13 coal plants in North Carolina. The study revealed that all of them are contaminating ground water with toxic pollutants, in some cases with over 350 times the allowable levels according to state standards. The contaminants include the toxic metals arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead, which can cause cancer and neurological disorders. The study was based on data submitted by Duke Energy and Progress Energy to state regulators. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is attempting to confirm the results before determining whether current state law can mandate corrective action.[10]
Virginia residents file $1 billion suit against Dominion over fly ash site
In March 2009, attorneys representing almost 400 residents who live near Battlefield Golf Club in Virginia filed a lawsuit in Chesapeake Circuit Court, seeking over $1 billion in damages. The suit claims that Dominion Virginia Power sent fly ash to the site, ignoring a consultant's determination that the ash would leach harmful elements into the local drinking water supply. The lawsuit names as defendants Dominion, course developer CPM Virginia LLC, and VFL Technology Corp., Dominion's coal-ash management consultant. The suit accuses the companies of committing conspiracy and fraud, battery, negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and the creation of a nuisance. The resident's attorneys are demanding the removal of all fly ash from the site; the cleaning of the aquifer and installation of public water and sewer service; compensation for personal injury and decreased property values; and the creation of a fund for treatment costs and health monitoring.[11]
4,000 gallons of sludge spill in Maryland
In March 2009, a 4,000-gallon spill of coal ash sludge spilled in Luke, Maryland, but did not seem to have reached the Potomac River. Most of the sludge spilled onto the West Virginia river bank, about 210 miles upstream from Washington, D.C. The sludge caused some discoloration of the river, but there were no signs of harm to fish or drinking water supplies. NewPage Corp., a paper manufacturer that owns the ash pipeline, had five days to tell the Maryland Department of the Environment how it would prevent future spills. The agency may fine the company.[12]
Coal ash pile in Orange County, FL may be leaking radioactivity
The Florida EPA is expected to ask the Orlando Utilities Commission to investigate the ash pile from its coal plant in eastern Orange County in early 2009. Officials believe the landfill is leaking radioactivity into a shallow underground aquifer. If the uranium and radium found in the coal combustion waste is causing elevated radioactivity in groundwater, it would be a sign that the liner is failing. Authorities say there is no immediate threat to local residents. The ash pile is 70-feet tall and holds several million tons of coal waste.[13]
Coal waste spill at TVA's Widows Creek plant in Alabama
On January 9, 2009, Tennessee Valley Authority confirmed another coal waste spill at its Widows Creek plant in northeast Alabama, less than three weeks after the enormous Tennessee coal ash spill at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant. The spill, which TVA said originated from a gypsum treatment operation, released about 10,000 gallons of toxic gypsum material, some of which spilled into Widows Creek and the nearby Tennessee River.[14]
Gypsum ponds contain limestone spray from smokestack scrubbers, which trap sulfur dioxide emissions before they are released into the air and turn them into sludge and solid waste.[15] According to a TVA statement, the spill occurred at 6 AM when a cap dislodged from a 30-inch standpipe, releasing material from the gypsum pond into a settling pond, which then reached capacity and overflowed.[16]
Retention pond wall collapses at TVA's Kingston plant in Tennessee
On December 22, 2008, a retention pond wall collapsed at TVA's Kingston plant in Harriman, TN, releasing a combination of water and fly ash that flooded 12 homes, spilled into nearby Watts Bar Lake, contaminated the Emory River, and caused a train wreck. Officials said 4 to 6 feet of material escaped from the pond to cover an estimated 400 acres of adjacent land. A train bringing coal to the plant became stuck when it was unable to stop before reaching the flooded tracks.[17] Hundreds of fish were floating dead downstream from the plant.[18] Water tests showed elevated levels of lead and thallium.[19]
Originally TVA estimated that 1.7 million cubic yards of waste had burst through the storage facility. Company officials said the pond had contained a total of about 2.6 million cubic yards of sludge. However, the company revised its estimates on December 26, when it released an aerial survey showing that 5.4 million cubic yards (1.09 billion gallons) of fly ash was released from the storage facility.[18] Several days later, the estimate was increased to over 1 billion gallons spilled.[20]
The TVA spill was 100 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, which released 10.9 million gallons of crude oil.[21] Cleanup was expected to take weeks and cost tens of millions of dollars.[22]
Drinking water contamination in Maryland
In November 2007, a group of Gambrills, Maryland residents living near a former sand and gravel mine filed a class action lawsuit against Constellation Energy over contamination of their drinking water. For twelve years prior, Constellation had dumped billions of tons of waste ash from its Brandone Shores coal-fired power plant into an unlined mine pit. County tests found that 23 wells in the area had been contaminated with metals such as arsenic, cadmium and thallium, all components fly ash.[23]
In October 2008, the group reached a settlement with Constellation. Circuit Court Judge Alfred Nance approved the estimated $54 million settlement in December 2008. The settlement requires that Constellation connect 84 households to public water, create two trust funds to compensate affected property owners, restore the former quarry site, and cease all future deliveries of coal ash to the site.[24]
Massey Coal spill in Martin County, Kentucky
On October 11, 2000, 250 million gallons of coal-mining sludge burst through the bottom of Massey Coal's 72-acre, 2.2-billion-gallon waste lagoon into Coldwater Creek in eastern Kentucky. The sludge smashed through concrete seals the company had built to contain a spill, then burst out two mine entries and into nearby creeks. The spill swamped lawns along the six miles of the Coldwater Creek, coated the banks and bottom of Coldwater and neighboring Wolf Creek to thicknesses of up to six feet, and suffocated aquatic life, including salamanders, frogs, fish and turtles.[25] Biologists said every fish in the creeks was killed, and many in the Big Sandy River died as well. The Kentucky Division of Fish and Wildlife Resources estimated that a total of 1.6 million fish were killed. Martin County Coal, a subsidiary of Massey Energy, paid the state of Kentucky $3.25 million in damages. along with $225,000 to restock streams with tens of thousands of fish. [26]
The spill was over 20 times the size of the Exxon Valdez's oil spill in Alaska.[25] Five years later, despite a $46 million cleanup, lawsuits claimed that sludge remained in the soil. More than 400 people who took part in lawsuits against the coal company reached out-of-court settlements and agreed not to disclose the terms.[26]
Study finds that Bush Administration concealed cancer risk from coal ash waste sites
In May 2009, the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice released a report finding that the Bush Administration failed to release information suggesting an alarmingly high cancer threat for people who live near coal ash waste dumps. According to the study, the Bush Administration only made a portion of the data available, hiding the true extent of the health risks associated with coal ash disposal sites.[27]
In 2002, an EPA study showed significant risk of coal ash sumps, but requests for the data under the Freedom of Information Act were either denied or given documents with the estimates of cancer risk blacked out. A 2007 EPA assessment report found that people living near coal ash dump sites have as high as a 1 in 50 chance of getting cancer from drinking water contaminated by arsenic. It also determined that living near such dump sites raises an individual's risk of liver, kidney, lungs and other organ damage resulting from exposure to toxic metals in the ash.[27]
The full EIP study can be found here.
EIP report says Pennsylvania coal ash dump is not adequately protected against groundwater contamination
The May 2009 study released by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and Earthjustice said that a 15-acre coal ash dump in Upper Mount Bethel Township, PA was not properly lined and did not have adequate controls to prevent groundwater contamination. The dump contains coal ash from the 427-megawatt Portland Generating Station, owned by RRI Energy. The report comes from previously unreleased data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency.[28]
Upper Mount Bethel Township Supervisor Judith Henckel said the power company needs to do more on environmental clean up.[28]
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility on Coal Ash Industry-EPA Interference
On January 27 Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) released a report that indicated the coal ash industry, with direct access to the EPA, manipulated reports and publications about the dangers of coal combustion waste. The group stated that the Environmental Protection Agency allowed the multi-billon dollar coal ash industry to have access to the EPA during the Bush administration years as well as under President Obama. The result has been a watering-down of crucial reports on human and environmental health related to coal waste. Documents obtained by PEER indicate that industry had access to a variety of EPA coal ash reports over the years and were successful in manipulating the information presented to the public about its negative effects.
The EPA reports were altered in several ways. References indicating the “high-risk” potential of coal combustion waste were deleted from PowerPoint presentations. Cautionary language about coal waste uses in agricultural practices was altered in order to remove negative connotations about the practice. And in 2007 the coal ash industry inserted language in an EPA report to Congress about how “industry and EPA [need to] work together” in order to block or water-down “state regulations [that] are hindering progress” in the use of coal ash waste.[29]
Environmental groups demand release of list of 44 high risk coal waste sites
In June 2009, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, the Environmental Integrity Project, and the NRDC filed a Freedom of Information Act request to gain access to a list of 44 coal ash disposal sites that EPA has classified as "high hazard." EPA has thus far refused to disclose which of the hundreds of coal ash sites across the country pose the biggest threat to neighboring communities. The agency was told by the US Department of Homeland Security not to release the information, citing unspecified national security concerns. The locations of other hazardous sites, such as nuclear power plants, are publicly available.[30]
EPA releases list of 44 "high hazard" coal ash dumps
In response to demands from environmentalists as well as Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, EPA made public its list of 44 "high hazard potential" coal waste dumps. The rating applies to sites at which a dam failure would most likely cause loss of human life, but does not include an assessment of the likelihood of such an event. The list includes sites in 10 states, including 12 in North Carolina, 9 in Arizona, 6 in Kentucky, 6 in Ohio, and 4 in West Virginia. Eleven of the sites belong to American Electric Power, 10 to Duke Energy. No Tennessee Valley Authority sites were included on the list. EPA relied on self-reporting by utilities to rank the facilities, and TVA classied all of its dump sites - including Kingston Fossil Plant - as "low hazard."[31]
TVA reclassifies sites as "high hazard"
Two weeks after the release of EPA's list, Tennessee Valley Authority reclassified four of its coal disposal sites to “high.” The four sites include Colbert and Widows Creek Fossil Plants in Alabama and Bull Run Fossil Plant and Cumberland Steam Plant in Tennessee. TVA reclassified most of its other dumps as "significant" hazards, meaning that a dam failure would likely cause economic loss and environmental damage. TVA had initially ranked all its sites as having "low" hazard potential.[32]
EPA's List of 44 High Hazard Potential Units
The following table comes from EPA's official list of Coal Combustion Residue (CCR) Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings. This list is organized alphabetically by company.[33]
Issues at AEP surface impoundments in West Virginia
An engineering report submitted to EPA in November 2009 recommended upgrading the rating of two surface impoundments at the Philip Sporn Power Plant in West Virginia from "poor" to "fair." Engineers from Dewberry, an EPA contractor, said the dams were likely to hold in the event of an earthquake, but that repairs and additional tests were still necessary. EPA said it would consider the recommendations, and American Electric Power said it would conduct further tests at the site. In addition to these investigations, the Department of Environmental Protection also discovered two nearby coal ash dams that officials were not aware existed, and that did not meet state safety regulations.[34]
Coal waste regulation
Coal waste dumps contain billions of gallons of fly ash and other coal waste containing toxic heavy metals, which the EPA considers a threat to water supplies and human health. However, they are not subject to federal regulation, and there is little monitoring of their impacts on the local environment.[35]
The EPA reclassified fly ash from waste to a reusable material in the 1980s. The agency exempted ash from regulations for hazardous waste beginning in 1993.[6] In 2001, the EPA said it wanted to set a national standard for ponds or landfills used for the disposal of coal waste. However, the agency has yet to act, and coal ash ponds are currently subject to less regulation than landfills accepting household trash, despite the tens of thousands of pounds of toxic heavy metals stored in ash ponds across the U.S. State regulations vary, but most ash ponds are unlined and unmonitored.[36]
In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute for Southern Studies looked into political contributions by the electrical utilities industry to the members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. According to data Sturgis gathered from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website, members of the Senate committee accepted a total of $1,079,503 from the electric utilities industry in the 2008 elections.[37]
EPA considers regulating coal ash
In May 2009, an EPA representative announced at an energy industry conference that the agency is preparing regulations on how to handle ash from coal-fired power plants. Matt Hale, the EPA official, said coal ash may be reclassified as hazardous waste. Although industry officials were vocal with objections, saying such a change would greatly increase disposal costs, Hale indicated that EPA hoped to have a proposal for national regulations by the end of the year. "The catastrophe at TVA changed the discussion and focused the discussion," he said.[38]
Regulations delayed
On December 17, 2009, EPA announced it was postponing its findings on coal ash regulations. A final decision had been expected before the end of the year. EPA attributed the delay to "the complexity of the analysis the agency is currently finishing," but said the delay would only last "a short period."[39]
Office of Inspector General Investigates EPA's 'Partnership' with Coal Industry
On November 2, 2009 the EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced in a report that a formal investigation into the EPA's "partnership" with the coal industry to market coal ash reuse in consumer, agricultural and industrial products was underway. The report also criticized the EPA for not releasing a report about cancer risks associated to the exposure of coal ash until March of 2009, a full seven years after the study was completed. The OIG investigation is a result of CBS's "60 Minutes" piece on coal ash in which EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson admitted that her agency had not produced any studies indicating that the re-use of coal ash was safe.[40]
Coal waste lawsuits
Lawsuit over dry ash disposal site in Maryland
On November 19, 2009, environmental groups filed a notice-of-intent-to-sue against Mirant Mid-Atlantic LLC and Mirant Maryland Ash Management LLC. The groups, including the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and others, allege Clean Water Act violations at the Brandywine Coal Combustion Waste Landfill in Prince George’s County, MD. The landfill does not use liners to prevent the coal waste from leaching into groundwater, and activists say an expected hazardous designation from EPA would require such liners and other means to prevent water contamination. The notice-of-intent against Mirant charges the company with "illegally discharging toxic pollutants into Mataponi Creek" through landfill leaching and violating the conditions of its permit, actions which have "injured, and will continue to injure, the health, environmental, aesthetic and economic interest of the plaintiffs." According to Jennifer Peterson of EIP, "The TVA spill dramatized the devastation that is caused when coal waste surface impoundments burst their banks. But slow motion toxic leaks and discharges from so-called 'dry' landfills also pose unacceptable risks to the environment and public health." Environmentalists suggest the new suit may lead to more lawsuits, especially if EPA classifies coal waste disposed in landfills as non-hazardous. New EPA regulations regarding coal ash disposal are expected by the end of 2009.[41]
Environmental groups sue EPA for release of confidential information
On December 1, 2009, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and the Environmental Integrity Project filed a lawsuit to force the Environmental Protection Agency to release information including storage capacity, inspection results, and records of violations, for over 70 coal waste storage sites across the U.S. Some power companies, such as Duke Energy, First Energy, and Southern Company subsidiaries Alabama Power and Georgia Power, have asked the EPA to withhold the data as "confidential business information." The environmental groups filed a complaint in federal district court under the Freedom of Information Act, arguing that access to the information is vital to the health and safety of the communities surrounding the potentially hazardous sites.[42]
Coal waste ponds in the United States
A January 2009 study by The New York Times following the enormous TVA coal ash spill found that there are more than 1,300 surface impoundments across the U.S., each of which can reach up to 1,500 acres.[35] Also in January 2009, an Associate Press study found that 156 coal-fired power plants store ash in surface ponds similar to one that ruptured at Kingston Fossil Plant. The states with the most storage in coal ash in ponds are Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama. The AP's analysis found that in 2005, 721 power plants generating at least 100 MW of electricity produced 95.8 million tons of coal ash, about 20 percent of which - or almost 20 million tons - ended up in surface ponds. The rest of the ash winds up in landfills or is sold for other uses.[36]
Top 100 coal waste storage sites in the U.S.
Also in January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of CCW stored in surface impoundments like the one at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant. Sturgis used data from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.[43] The following table represents the amount of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006 by the top 100 polluters.[5]
Table courtesy of Sue Sturgis and the Institute for Southern Studies, based on EPA data for 2006. Figures rounded to the nearest pound.[5]
Other uses for coal combustion waste
The utilities industry has promoted the reuse of coal combustion waste because of the growing amount produced each year — 131 million tons in 2007, up from less than 90 million tons in 1990. Uses for coal ash include construction fill, dry wall, and mine reclamation. In 2007, 50 million tons of fly ash was used for agriculture purposes, such as improving the soil’s ability to hold water, in spite of a 1999 EPA warning about high levels of arsenic.[35]
Fly ash is also used to make cement. The use of fly ash in cement kilns in the U.S. has grown from about 1 million tons in 2001 to more than 4 million tons in 2006. Mercury and other metals in fly ash are transformed into vapor and released out of the kiln's smokestack. A 2007 EPA study found that mercury content in ash had increased by up to 850 percent as power plants met stricter federal rules for mercury emissions. The EPA estimates that cement plants produce about 23,000 pounds of mercury per year. In New York's Hudson Valley, the Lafarge cement plant releases between 380 and 400 pounds of toxic mercury per year, equivalent to the four largest coal plants in the state.[6]
Fly ash is also used in a number of consumer products, including bowling balls and carpeting.
In muddy feedlots, fly ash is used to absorb excess water. The result, according to Debra Pflughoeft-Hassett, manager of the coal ash studies at the Energy and Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks, ND, is that "animals gain weight and are less stressed."[44]
Coal ash is also used along with salt to help clear snowy and icy roads and to provide tire traction.[45]
Resources
References
- ↑ What Is a Coal Sludge or Slurry Impoundment?, Coal River Mountain Watch.
- ↑ Energy Glossary, U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed 1/09
- ↑ "Burning waste coal is much dirtier than burning coal," Energy Justice Network, accessed 1/09
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Green Coal?," Rachel's Environment & Health News, November 6, 2008.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Sue Sturgis, "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?," Institute for Southern Studies, January 2009
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Fly ash: Culprit at Lafarge? Residue of coal-burning is being examined as possible source of mercury pollution," Times Union, October 26, 2008.
- ↑ "FGD SCRUBBER MATERIAL," U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, accessed December 2009.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Analyzing why all landfills leak," Rachel's Environment & Health News, February 14, 1989.
- ↑ "EPA says all landfills leak, even those using best available liners," Rachel's Environment & Health News, August 10, 1987.
- ↑ Sue Sturgis, "All North Carolina coal ash ponds are leaking toxic pollution to groundwater," Institute for Southern Studies, October 7, 2009.
- ↑ Roger McCabe, "400 residents sue Dominion, developer over fly-ash site," Virginia Pilot, March 27, 2009.
- ↑ "Potomac River mostly spared from 4,000 gallon of coal ash that spilled from Md. paper mill," Associated Press, March 10, 2009.
- ↑ Kevin Spear, "Fears mount on how OUC handles ash from coal plant," Orlando Sentinel, January 25, 2009.
- ↑ Bruce Nilles, "Coal Waste Spills by the Dozen?," Daily Kos, January 9, 2009.
- ↑ "Waste Spills From a Second TVA Coal-Fired Power Plant," Environment News Service, January 9, 2009.
- ↑ "SECOND TVA SPILL: Dam Breaks At Alabama Coal Plant," Associated Press, January 9, 2009.
- ↑ Chloe White, "Dike bursts, floods 12 homes, spills into Watts Bar Lake," Knoxville News Sentinel, December 22, 2008.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Ash spill: TVA triples amount of sludge released," Knoxville News Sentinel, December 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Lead and thallium taint water near TVA pond breach," Knoxville News Sentinel, December 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Tennessee sludge spill estimate grows to 1 billion gallons," CNN, December 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Exxon Valdez oil spill," Encyclopedia of the Earth, access 12/08
- ↑ Rebecca Ferrar, "The cleanup: Weeks, millions needed to fix impact from TVA pond breach," Knoxville News Sentinel, December 27, 2008.
- ↑ "Constellation, Gambrills residents settle fly-ash suit," Baltimore Sun, November 1, 2008.
- ↑ "$54 Million: Maryland Fly Ash, Class Action Settlement Wins Court Approval: A Milestone in Maryland Environmental and Legal History," World-Wire, December 31, 2008.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 " A Torrent of Sludge Muddies a Town's Future ," New York Times, December 25, 2000.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Few outward signs remain of Eastern Ky. sludge spill," Sludge Safety Project, October 11, 2005.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Sue Sturgis"Bush administration hid coal ash dumps' true cancer threat," Instituted for Southern Studies, May 8, 2009.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Chris Knight, "Environmental group says Slate Belt coal-ash dump inadequately protecting against groundwater contamination," Express-Times, May 11, 2009.
- ↑ "Coal Ash Industry Allowed to Edit EPA Report", Public Employees for Public Responsibility, accessed January 27, 2010.
- ↑ "Enviros Demand Locations of 44 'High Hazard' Coal Ash Sites, Environmental News Service, June 19, 2009.
- ↑ Shaila Dewan, "E.P.A. Lists ‘High Hazard’ Coal Ash Dumps," New York Times, June 30, 2009.
- ↑ Shaila Dewan, "Tennessee Valley Authority Increases Hazard Ratings on Coal Ash Sites," New York Times, July 17, 2009.
- ↑ Fact Sheet: Coal Combustion Residues (CCR) - Surface Impoundments with High Hazard Potential Ratings, Environmental Protection Agency, June 2009.
- ↑ Ken Ward Jr., "EPA considers upgrading ratings of Mason coal-ash dams," Charleston Gazette, November 16, 2009.
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Shaila Dewan, "Hundreds of Coal Ash Dumps Lack Regulation," New York Times, January 7, 2009.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 Dina Cappiello, "Toxic Coal Ash Piling up in Ponds in 32 States," Associated Press, January 9, 2009.
- ↑ Sue Sturgis, "Toxic Influence: Coal ash-tainted money funds senators holding TVA disaster hearing," Institute for Southern Studies, January 7, 2009.
- ↑ "EPA representative: Coal ash could be regulated," Associated Press, May 6, 2009.
- ↑ Statement from EPA on Coal Ash, EPA, December 17, 2009.
- ↑ "Inspector General to Probe EPA Marketing of Coal Ash", Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, November 4, 2009.
- ↑ "Activists Target 'Dry' Coal Ash Disposal In Bid For Hazardous Waste Rule," Inside EPA, November 24, 2009. (Subscription required)
- ↑ "Communities Have Right to Know About Toxic Coal Ash Impoundments," Earthjustice, December 2, 2009.
- ↑ TRI Explorer, EPA, accessed January 2009.
- ↑ James Macpherson, "ND researcher: Coal ash can be used safely," Associated Press, January 9, 2009
- ↑ "Cinders raise health concerns," Columbia Tribune, January 19, 2009.
Related SourceWatch articles
External links
- Coal Ash Safety Issues, Donald Saxman, altenergymag.com (undated)
- "Coal Ash: 130 Million Tons of Waste," 60 Minutes, October 4, 2009.
- "Coal Ash: A National Problem Needs a National Solution," Earth Justice fact sheet, January 2009.
- "Toxic Ash: A License to Pollute," Post and Courier, October 26-29, 2008.
- "Coal Combustion Waste, As You May or May Not Know...", March 27, 2008.
- House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources: Oversight Hearing,"How Should the Federal Government Address the Health and Environmental Risks of Coal Combustion Waste?,", June 10, 2007
- Martha Keating,"Cradle to Grave: The Environmental Impacts from Coal," Clean Air Task Force, June 2001
- Martha Keating, Ellen Baum and Eric Round, "Laid to Waste: The Dirty Secret of Combustion Waste from America's Power Plants," Citizens Coal Council, Hoosier Environmental Council, Clean Air Task Force, March 2000
- Kirstin Lombardi, "Coal ash: The hidden story," Center for Public Integrity, February 19, 2009.
- Charles Duhigg, "Toxic Waters: Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, At a Cost in Suffering,", New York Times, September 12, 2009.
