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Are Coal Ash Products Safe?

October 1, 2009 11:50 AM

Coal ash, a byproduct of coal power plants, is being recycled in dozens of ways and used in products. How safe are these products? Lesley Stahl talks to EPA administrator Lisa Jackson.

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by zephyr1034 October 5, 2009 1:35 PM EDT
POISON (poi'zen) n. 1. Any substance that causes injury, illness, or death, especially by chemical means. 2. Anything that is destructive or fatal.

(American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)

COAL CUMBUSTION WASTE IS POISON!!!

YOU GOT THAT????
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by LilBambi01 October 5, 2009 1:29 PM EDT
More comments and longer video here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5362297n
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by LilBambi01 October 5, 2009 12:16 PM EDT
NOTE: There is at least one other comment so far on the other video clip that CNSNews has here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5359991n
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by JoanK48 October 5, 2009 11:59 AM EDT
Right now, Appalachian Electric Power is dumping 300,000 cubic yards of coal fly ash as "beneficial use" right on the flood plain of the New River in southwest Virginia. What's bad is that the site is engineered to be a building site. Perhaps, decades into the future, the earthen dam will fail, spewing ash slurry into one of the most beautiful rivers in the United States. When confronted about this at a public meeting, an AEP scientist said that the river would dilute the toxins. Industry uses our rivers as toilets--very sad indeed.

There are thousands of coal fly ash dump sites across the United States, mostly in rural and low income areas. Not surprisingly, these areas have higher than normal cancer, heart disease, and other chronic diseases. So, the ponds are only part of the story.
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by LilBambi01 October 5, 2009 10:49 AM EDT
Yes, what about the health and well being of those who live within 30 miles of coal fired power plants, particularly baseload coal fired power plants - and places where Mountain Top Removal is happening on a massive scale above homes, communities, water supplies, food sources?

I truly am not all that interested in carbon emissions per se. What I am interested in is the pollution as a whole; air, water, ground, livestock and foodstuff farms.

And humans that have to breath all this pollution, or drink water that has been compromised by the pollution, or eating from their gardens or farms or selling these products to grocery store for others to ingest.

Sure, the newer coal plants have less pollution than the older plants ? but if you remember that old hemorrhoid relief commercial where they say while demonstrating with their hands, ?If THIS is your problem, THIS is no answer.?

And every new coal plant, particularly baseload power plants that are added, adds to the overwhelming problems already related to coal extraction, preparation and transportation, and of course the end result coal ash waste.

There are many waterways that are already injured and flow downstream to rivers and bays, like the Chesapeake Bay here in VA which is already struggling to get the pollution under control from years of lack of regard for what goes into it pollution wise from various industries.

And what of local water ways, like right near us in the Blackwater River system, that has mercury levels in many areas where you can?t eat fish more than once a week (if at all) due to the mercury content already in it ? before the new 1500 MW ODEC coal fired power plant is built and spewing even more pollution to add insult to injury.

As Elisa Young from Ohio noted above, Virginia isn?t alone in this battle. Many states are struggling with the clash between the health and welfare of their population, and the need and/or greed of money and power (both electrical and over people).

We really need to stop looking at the dollar signs and start looking at the telltale danger signs for the health and welfare of our people and our children, grandchildren and their children, and grandchildren -- The future!

You know, George Carlin was right when he said the problem isn?t the planet, the planet will do just fine ? it will just shake us off like a bad case of fleas and continue on it?s merry way ? it?s us I?m worried about! (forgive the paraphrase).

Yes, the world will continue either way ? we just might not be in the equation. Another species will rise up to take our irreverent and uncaring place.

No one is saying turn off the coal plants, except to upgrade them to better technologies. They are already with us and the current ones are needed to get us by for awhile. And for a hazardous material to be regulated as it should have been from the start.

However, we don?t need any NEW coal plants adding to the problem, what we need is the OLD ones upgraded to newer technology currently available AND ANY new facilities based on renewable sources.

I really feel for those areas in the country that are already feeling the affects of having coal plants so long near their homes, schools, water supplies and food sources due to these coal plants. I am saddened that it took me until now when they want to put a 1500 MW baseload coal fired power plant so close to our home, schools, water supply and farms/gardens to realize the dangers others have been facing for years -- from Mountain Top Removal to these coal fired plants around the country and around the world.

For complete disclosure, here is my connection to the coal industry:

I am a property owner/resident in the small 300+ Town of Dendron, in Surry County, VA where ODEC proposes to build a 1500 MW coal fired power plant. My Jim has a paralyzed right side diaphragm and is on an oxygen concentrator a minimum of 12 out of every 24 hours and struggles with Lyme Disease. Oxygen concentrators filter out nitrogen from the air to concentrate the oxygen, but doesn?t filter out anything else (pollutants in the air), and we will be well within the 1 mile stack shadow (as will EVERY SINGLE RESIDENT OF DENDRON AND OUR WATER SUPPLY). Not to mention, the wetlands close on two or three sides of the 1500 MW plant proposed. They actually had to move the plant CLOSER to the town to better 'protect' the wetlands. Well, what about the people that they moved it even closer to??!

We have been here for over 10 years and took a lot of time looking for and researching the area for a home that we could live in for the rest of our lives and sunk everything we had into it. There was NO mention in any papers about this area at that time that ODEC was even considering this plant in 1998, or I can tell you with a certainty that we would not have purchased here.
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by MGNWV October 5, 2009 10:05 AM EDT
All to turn on the lights! We also need to think about the coal sludge impoundments where the by products of washing and preparing the coal as "stored". The coal companies also have hundreds of billions of gallons of coal sludge waste in sludge dams through out Appalachia. I live in Boone County WV and with in a 25 mile stretch of Pond Fork River (headwaters of the Big Coal River) we have 14 coal sludge dams and NO EVACUATION PLANS. This material is also chemical laiden toxic soup. The coal waste dam at Marfork hollow (Brushy Fork Impoundment) at its completed stage will contain 9 billion gallons of coal waste! Just accross the ridge there is Goal Impoundment 2.8 billion gallons constructed behind a school full of kids. How is it that coal and homeland security are used in the same sentence is beyond me. Mountaintop removal coal mining is where alot of this coal comes from. There have now been more than 500 mountains leveled for their coal. Over 2000 miles of streams burried or polluted for coal. Ask yourselves "What is the price you are willing to pay to turn on the lights?"
Looking at it from WV we are paying with the lives of our men and women in the mines, the land scaped and water that sustains our lives, the culture that is connected to the mountains that are being obliterated, the quality of the air we breath (near 4 million tons of blasting material a day in WV alone), we as a nation are giving up everything that sustains life to flip on the switch. Problem is... Its not ours to give!!! It belongs to our kids and grandkids. Money won't help if they live in a polluted land with polluted water and air. What are we thinking?? We have an obligation to clean this up and transition to a renewable energy future for our kids now before its to late!
We cannot continue to do this!
Just so we are clear.. Coal will never be clean and the dirtiest thing about it is the lies.
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by VernonHaltom October 5, 2009 1:13 AM EDT
Power bills don't reflect the true cost of coal, such as the loss of lives, health, property values, water, communities, culture, and renewable, sustainable resources. Elisa's community is a good example of the "expendability" mindset driving the country's reliance on coal: it's okay that thousands of people die, are sickened, or lives otherwise ruined as long as get get to waste electricity by the cheap megawatt. There are several communities ruined by coal waste, irresponsible mining, mountaintop removal, etc. Unfortunately, the profiteers have a huge propaganda and lobbying budget to convince politicians and the general public that the economy will collapse if we take such basic steps as ending mountaintop removal. For example, the "faces of coal" ad appearing on this page takes you to a site that provides false information.
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by bardwelln October 4, 2009 8:49 PM EDT
What is the name of the golf course please that was contaminated?

Noah
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by bardwelln October 4, 2009 8:43 PM EDT
It's also unfortunate that there were 12 other comments on this website that seem to have "disappeared."

Dr. Powell: are you paid by the coal industry?

If so, would you say that you have a conflict of interest?

There are 500 coal ash sites around the U.S., and only a fraction (about 25%) have ANY groundwater monitoring AT ALL.

TVA said they were taken COMPLETELY by surprised by the coal ash spill. There are FOUR HUNDRED of these sites around the U.S.

Would you want your children to eat cattle that walks around all day on toxic coal ash? Would you want your children to live near a coal ash site, or to drink water contaminated with coal ash?

The natural gas industry said the same thing about hydraulic fracturing chemicals. "it's safe," said industry. Then when the EPA FINALLY -- FINALLY started TESTING almost one third of the wells tested were contaminated.

Are you trying to say that 130 MILLION tons/YEAR, dumped year after year after decade after decade, are NOT leaking into groundwater?

Thanks for the "other" side of the story -- now please have the decency, Dr. Powell, to tell us if you're paid by industry -- and how much you're paid.

Thank you.

Noah Bardwell
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by mikeapowell October 4, 2009 7:52 PM EDT
I am a coal geochemist. I've worked on coal ash for over 20 years, including ways of using it in agriculture to promote higher yields and remineralize degraded soils. Much of my research was funded by the Govt. of Canada. I have also been involved with the many organizations/groups that promote the "wise" use of fly ash, rather than it's disposal.

The problems pointed out by 60 Minutes tonight were created by improper engineering/use, not by the fly ash. Fly ash is not inherently "bad" nor does is all contain high levels of the many metals noted in the show tonight. In fact, the composition of coal fly ash is a function of the coal itself, it's origin, and mineralogy.

It is unfortunate that 60 Minutes chose to give only one side of the story.

It is true, coal (and the other fossil fuels) provide the majority of energy required to power our growing population. In developing countries, those that have large reserves of coal and little else, coal is dispropotionately important. Energy is the single most important commodity on Earth - "wise use of waste" is simply a methodology that must be adopted - we have no choice.

I don't know if the 60 Minute staff read these comments, but I would welcome the chance to tell the other side of the story.

Dr. Michael A. Powell, PhD
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by jugeebe October 4, 2009 6:26 PM EDT
It never ceases to amaze me what people will do for money. Of course than man that built the golf course says it is safe. But what does he say about the 250+ wells near the golf course have been contaminated? Towns have been destroyed by it, rivers have been contaminated by the metals found in coal ash (fly ash, CCB's, etc.). Evidence from the testing of coal ash show that it is very dangerous. New homes that have drywall (Made in China) in them have been tested and some have been condemned. Does this sound like it's safe? It is imperative that the EPA call it what it is...hazardous waste and regulate it accordingly. The first thing the EPA needs to do is eliminate the "beneficial use" clause. Because of this clause the following was allowed to happen. In the County where I live in Virginia, a public school foundation purchased a piece of land on the banks of the New River and entered into an agreement that would allow the electric company to dump fly ash in an unlined land berm on the river bank (located in a floodplain). It is obvious that coal is going to continue to be used and I understand that. However, coal ash has to be handled safely and responsibly and that does not happen now.
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by ElisaYoung1 October 2, 2009 11:10 PM EDT
I live in Meigs County, Ohio, and coal ash is killing us.

We have 4 power plants in an 11.5 mile radius (second largest concentration in the US) from where my family?s lived for 7 generations ever since serving in the Revolutionary War. It?s just about been made unlivable here by legally regulated means.

Ohio has the worst air quality in the nation. Within that, our county has the shortest life expectancy (70.2 years according to Harvard University), we have the highest lung cancer death rate, rank #2 for all cancers combined, the highest asthma rate, and our children are the least likely to be insured (18.6% double the state average).

If there?s a medical emergency, there?s no hospital in the entire county. The nearest emergency room is 45 minutes away, driving the speed limit.

There's a huge disconnect between what we are being exposed to and what that is doing to our health. Our local leadership was recently quoted as saying it would help our kids to feed them coal: http://news21. jomc.unc. edu/index. php/stories/ coal.html

That may sound outrageous, but one industry would like to do exactly that. One 900 MW power plant newly proposed 5 miles away from us, AMP-GS, is contracting with Andersons now to convert power plant waste into agricultural use fertilizer and spread it directly on our food chain.

Industry wants to build 5 more power plants here, and saying it will make it "cleaner."

Dirty lies start to finish. Let?s focus on the finish.

Just with what's here, we can?t accomodate the volume of waste generated. They have lined our kids running tracks with it (until they started to have breathing problems), filled in slipped roads with it (and caused huge fish kills), made cattle feeders out of it to keep the hay off the ground, which seemed to like a great idea until they started disintegrating in the fields and farmers had to try to haul them off to the dump - THEN the EPA stepped in and said they couldn't do that because it was hazardous waste and couldn't be put in the landfills (wasn't hazardous waste when they sold it to us!). They make building materials out of it - cinder blocks, counter tops, carpet, roofing shingles, dry wall.

In China where they've used these ?recycled, local" products, these materials are causing problems with metal pipes in people's homes and eating through their air conditioners.

These "recycled, local" products are flooding the market at the same time we're trying to seal up our homes and make them airtight in the name of energy efficiency.

What are we breathing?

No one can answer that. PPW is an unregulated material. I have seen analysis of this stuff and it includes arsenic, cyanide, mercury, lead, selenium, barium...is this anything we should be exposing ourselves and our families to?

The power plants give PPW to our local township garages for them to dump it on our roads about a dozen times a year over the winter and call it "road maintenance," instead of salt or pea gravel because our county is poor and can't afford that. One woman told me she knew she was to Meigs (she was driving in a storm) when the salt in the trucks turned black.

I've collected bags of this valuable product from the end of our farm's driveway to share with the Public Utilities Commission, but their attorney cringed and said she didn't want it when I passed it to her. Well, there you go! NEITHER DO WE.

It's crushed when we drive over it, and what doesn't aerosolize into the air for us to breathe, flows off into the ground water our cows drink and the pastures they graze.

At Cheshire, a village my family helped found 7 generations ago (and American Electric Power bought for $20 million and depopulated in this generation as a result of "clean" coal gone bad), the landfills are now overflowing and they can't even cap them off. So they terrace it, spray grass seed, and keep going - it's like MTR in reverse. Except when the wind blows you get a face full of it. One woman told me it was eating the paint off her car on Turkey Run, and when she complained to the EPA about the dust and balding car, they tested it and told her it was not from the PPW, it was from the tree sap of a South American tree dropping on it (a tree that is not indigenous here). http://www.forgotte noh.com/Cheshire /cheshire. html

When I stand on our family's cemetery at Cheshire, the hill is shaved off to within 3 feet of the headstones and there's an overflowing landfill on one side, the world's third largest generating station in the nation, and a whole village that's been rendered unlivable.

We have been objecting to deaf ears for years. It's about time the EPA grew a spine and started regulating power plant waste for what it is ? poisonous, toxic waste.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste

Sincerely,
Elisa Young
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