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Home » Is there a coal ash pond near you? Check out this map.

Is there a coal ash pond near you? Check out this map.

Environmentalists say site covers are not always an effective option for coal ash ponds where the coal ash is below ground level, with the soil below being saturated with water. Because the plug does not prevent contamination from entering the environment. Zone

Alabama Power, the state’s largest public company, owns the waste site, which has no ash and is contaminating groundwater.

Federal regulations require Alabama Power to close the pond, which plans to seal coal ash in its place. Environmental groups have called on the company to dig it up and move it to a safer location.

Coal ash is a general term for the residue that is left behind when companies burn coal. It contains metals like lead, mercury, chromium, selenium, cadmium and arsenic which never biodegrade. Studies show that these pollutants are dangerous to humans and some have been linked to cancer, lung disease and birth defects.

There are different types of coal ash, including fly ash, which is fine and powdery, bottom ash, which is heavy and coarse, and boiler slag, which is molten bottom ash. There is also flue gas desulfurization gypsum, also known as FGD gypsum, which is left over when companies use cleaners to reduce emissions during the coal combustion process.
The coal ash recycling industry is important. According to the American Coal Ash Association, utility companies produced 78.6 million tons of coal ash in 2019. More than half were converted to other materials such as cement, grout and wallboard.

What is a coal ash pond?

Before the 1970s, many utility companies were spewing their coal waste into the air, said attorney Lisa Evans, who has focused on coal ash litigation for more than 20 years and for Earth Justice. They work.

After Congress passed the 1970 Clean Air Act, which regulated air emissions from power plants, some facilities began storing their coal ash in earthen pits, now commonly known as ash ponds or surface impoundments. known as reservoirs.

Some of them are great. The CNN investigation in Alabama covers 597 acres and is roughly the size of the National Mall.

Why is this a problem?

According to a CNN analysis of data collected by Earthjustice, there are an estimated 511 coal ash ponds in the United States.

Coal-fired power plants generate electricity by burning coal to heat water, which is turned into steam and passed through a turbine to generate electricity. As a result, many coal-fired power plants have been built near river systems.

Environmentalists often raise two main concerns about coal ash ponds: They can contaminate groundwater and that infrastructure can fail and cause catastrophic spills.

Environmentalists say site covers are not always an effective option for coal ash ponds where the coal ash is below ground level, with the soil below being saturated with water. Because the plug does not prevent contamination from entering the environment. Zone

Earthjustice data shows that, like the Alabama pond in the CNN investigation, about half, about 46 percent, of known ponds are not covered and have closed or will close in some places.

Environmentalists say site capping, the plan chosen by Alabama Power, is not always an effective option for coal ash ponds where the coal ash is below ground level, the point below which the soil is saturated with water, as this cover does not prevent pollutants. Infiltrating the surrounding area.

In the United States, 40 or fewer ponds have a protective coating to contain ash, and more than 200…

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