Environment

Coal Ash Build Up at Toxic Levels in 32 States

by Tina Kells | January 9, 2009 at 12:07 pm

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On the heels of last month's coal ash storage pond collapse in Tennessee the Associate Press has published a report that identifies other at risk coal ash overflow pond in 32 states.

The report warns that the power industry's practice of storing by-product coal ash in ponds has reached toxic levels and poses a great threat to human health and safety.

An Associated Press analysis of the most recent Energy Department data found that 156 coal-fired power plants store ash in surface ponds similar to the one that collapsed last month in Tennessee.

Records indicate that states storing the most coal ash in ponds are Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama.

The man-made lagoons hold a mixture of the noncombustible ingredients of coal and the ash trapped by equipment designed to reduce air pollution from the power plants.

Over the years, the volume of waste has grown as demand for electricity increased and the federal government clamped down on emissions from power plants.

The AP's analysis found that in 2005, the most recent year data is available, 721 power plants generating at least 100 megawatts of electricity produced 95.8 million tons of coal ash. About 20 percent - or nearly 20 million tons - ended up in surface ponds. The remainder ends up in landfills, or is sold for use in concrete, among other uses.

The Environmental Protection Agency eight years ago said it wanted to set a national standard for ponds or landfills used to dispose of wastes produced from burning coal.