Several years ago coal ash from power plants was given a non-hazardous rating. Since then, technology has improved the quality of the smoke released into the air from coal-firing plants. The toxins that used to escape into the air are now kept in the ash left behind. Tests have shown that coal ash contains dangerous toxins such as arsenic, lead, chromium, manganese and barium, which have been linked to serious health conditions such as cancer, liver damage and neurological complications.

Environmentalists have tried over the years to have coal ash reclassified as a hazardous material, but little was done to push that effort until last year when a coal impoundment pond in east Tennessee breached, sending a massive wave of coal ash on to a neighboring community. The 1.1 billion gallons that spilled out toppled houses, destroyed property and contaminated the nearby Emory River. Several residents were displaced, but it is the health risk that concerns many of the people affected by the spill. Some have reported respiratory problems and heightened anxiety. Others, including a young child, have tested positive for heavy metal in their bloodstream.

Environmentalists and activists are urging the EPA to carefully consider how it will categorize both wet and dry coal ash impoundments. “Both pose a threat to human health and the environment so it doesn’t make sense to create that dichotomy (between wet and dry ash storage regulation),” said Lisa Evans, an attorney with Earthjustice, in an interview with the Tennessean.“We would not think that would be a protective scheme, with the many cases where dry disposal has caused contamination of groundwater and surface water.”

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › EPA considers hazardous material classification of coal ash