That coal ash is a synthetic form of the mineral gypsum, produced by power plant “scrubbers” that remove sulfur dioxide from the smoke stack emissions. The chalky substance also contains mercury, arsenic, lead and other heavy metals that have been linked to serious health problems, like cancer, liver damage and neurological complications.

So why scatter toxic ash over the fruits and vegetables we eat? The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says the toxins are in such small amounts that they aren’t harmful to crops or humans. That’s hardly reassuring news considering a year ago coal ash wasn’t classified as a hazardous material, and plants that stored coal ash waste weren’t subject to federal inspections.

It wasn’t until the wall of a coal ash impoundment pond at a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) plant in east Tennessee broke, sending a wave of coal ash onto a nearby community, that the government began to take a closer look at the waste produced by power plants. It found that coal ash contained higher levels of toxins that originally thought and was in fact dangerous to humans.

The TVA now faces lawsuits from hundreds of victims of that spill. Many residents lost property, but several have reported health problems ranging from nosebleeds to breathing complications. Some, including a small child, have even tested positive for heavy metal in their bloodstream.

Now that light has been shed on the real dangers of coal ash, perhaps the government might reconsider its stance on the safety of coal ash as a fertilizer for the foods we eat.

Source: Food Consumer

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Why is toxic coal ash used to fertilize crops we eat?

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