The coal ash, a byproduct of fossil fuel plants, which for years farmers have used to fertilize their fields, is also used to strengthen concrete for roads and as filler for recreational fields. It’s a convenient way for coal-firing plants to rid themselves of tons of waste each year. But some fear that the material, especially when used on crops, could be hazardous to human health.

“Basically this is a leap into the unknown,” says Jeff rush, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, to the Associated Press. “This stuff has materials in it that we’re trying to prevent entering the environment from coal-fired power plants and then to turn around and smear it across ag lands raises some real questions.”

The safety of such byproducts was brought to light a year ago, after more than a billion gallons of coal ash from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) plant in Kingston, Tenn., spilled from an impoundment pond and covered a nearby community. New testing revealed that coal ash, which was not classified as a hazardous material, contained dangerous toxins and heavy metals that could pose serious health problems for humans. Since then, the EPA has been inspecting coal ash sites across the country and is establishing guidelines for safe storage, expected to be unveiled early next year.

Despite the presence of dangerous toxins in coal ash, the EPA says scattering the material on crops is “safe in appropriate soil and hydrogeologic conditions.” But is it worth the risk? For a dozen years, Decatur Utilities in Alabama distributed waste in the form of sludge from its treatment plant to farmers as free fertilizer for their crops. While the EPA was aware that the waste in fertilizer could be dangerous to humans as early as 1979, it wasn’t until last year that the EPA realized that the fertilizer was actually being dumped onto crops. Decatur Utilities quickly halted the practice. This month, the agency announced it would test the blood of as many as 200 residents in Lawrence County for potential toxic chemicals.

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › EPA says coal ash is safe to use as fertilizer on crops

But sometimes materials that we think are safe for use are in fact harmful to humans. Consider this sad story now being played out in Lawrence County, Alabama.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it will test the blood of as many as 200 residents in Lawrence County for potentially toxic chemicals – toxins that were scattered on fields by Decatur Utilities, a local wastewater plant.

For 12 years, Decatur Utilities distributed sludge from its treatment plant to farmers for free for use as fertilizer on their crops. More than 90 percent of the county – or about 5,000 acres of land – have been covered with the stuff. In 1979, 3M conducted tests and alerted the EPA of the possibility that the fertilizer was contaminated with PFCs, or perflourinated chemicals. It wasn’t until last year that the EPA learned that the potentially contaminated sludge was being dumped on to farmland. Once the connection was made, Decatur Utilities stopped giving away the sludge-fertilizer.

While studies have shown that there is danger of PFCs harming laboratory animals, the effect of PFCs on humans is unclear. The EPA has conducted tests of public water supplies and the Department of Agriculture has studied samples taken from cattle slaughtered near contaminated land. Both have determined that they were safe for human consumption. However, tests on cattle’s blood have levels of PFOS, a particularly toxic PFC, at levels as high as 500 times the EPA health advisory applicable to drinking water, according to the Decatur Daily.

Residents of Lawrence County who live near heavily contaminated fields or who drink from contaminated private wells will receive letters from the EPA soon offering the free blood tests.

Kind of makes you wonder what we will learn about coal ash byproducts, especially those used to fertilize farmland.

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › EPA tests Lawrence County residents for potential toxic chemicals