Coal Ash

Coal ash is a byproduct of the production of electricity from coal. Pollution in the ash threatens the health of people and animals by contaminating the land, water and air of communities nearby.

Coal Ash Pollution Information

Eleven toxic metals contaminate coal fly ash — antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel and selenium. About 130 million tons of waste product, most of it in the form of coal fly ash, is released into the environment every year by coal processing power plants

Fine dry ash particles, about the size of bacteria, are easily inhaled deeply into the lungs. This fly ash endangers healthy people, others with preexisting infections, lung and cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, as well as wildlife.

The ash is dangerous when it

Enters ground water
Flows over the land from spills
Dissipates in the air in the form of dust

Coal Ash Producing Power Plants

Coal is processed and burned to create steam from water. The steam drives turbines to create electricity. Ash is the byproduct that remains after the coal is processed. Fly ash, the upper layer of ash, is collected and mixed with water, producing a toxic sludge that is stored in collecting ponds.

When the sludge seeps through the walls of ponds, it poisons ground water. Sometimes the pond walls give way, and a flow of contaminated sludge rolls over the land. Ponds that are unlined, partially lined, or are lined with clay are the most dangerous to health and the environment, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

A coal ash pond in Eastern Tennessee ruptured in December 2008. When a 65 foot above-ground retaining wall failed, it released a billion gallons of toxic sludge that flowed over 300 acres of land, destroying homes and farmland, contaminating surrounding rivers and groundwater, ruining a road and railway, and ripping apart a major gas line.

The EPA measured the arsenic in the river water downstream from the spill at 149 times the federal limit. Efforts to clean up the spill continue.

Coal Ash Pond Remediation and Regulations

The 2008 Eastern Tennessee spill caused an uproar, reigniting the call for stricter regulation of coal ash containment. Since the spill, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has emphasized keeping the ash from drying out and entering the air, by using vacuums and water on the roads and planting ground cover.

A muti-institutional team led by Duke University scientists is monitoring the effects of the giant spill. The TVA, the Tennessee Division of Environment and Conservation and the EPA have begun studies and an extensive monitoring program. The National Academy of Sciences is sponsoring engineering and geological studies of coal ash ponds and making recommendations.

The EPA had announced previously it would publish new regulations for coal ash by the end of 2009. “Due to the complexity of the analysis,” the EPA reported late last year, it needed to delay issuing new rules. Politics and money are playing an increasing role in the creation of the new rules.

Manufacturers use ash to produce cement and in compounds to help grow peanuts, corn, tomatoes, alfalfa and other crops. Environmental protection groups are allied against politicians of coal producing states, coal companies, electric power interests, cement companies and manufacturers of agricultural products.

For more information about coal fly ash, or if you would like to speak with an attorney about potential injuries, contact an attorney that specializes in coal ash litigation today.

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Coal Ash

Coal Ash Pollution Information

Coal Ash Producing Power Plants

Coal Ash Pond Remediation and Regulations

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