[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/EW-11-16-12-Coal-Ash.mp3|titles=EW 11-16-12 Coal Ash]
Coal is a rock, albeit a soft rock that is mostly made of carbon. When we burn coal, this carbon is released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. A portion of the remaining materials, composing about 1% of coal, is left behind as ash.
At large coal-fired power plants, enormous quantities of ash are generated. Just last year, across the U.S., about 130 million tons of coal ash was produced. Some of this ash is reused in products like concrete. But the bulk of it is dumped in landfills and ash ponds.
Coal ash contains high concentrations of mercury, arsenic, selenium and other metals that are toxic to wildlife and humans. When coal ash is piled near waterways, it can pollute drainage waters.
“We just released a study that came out in the journal Environmental Science and Technology where we showed that disposal of coal ash into ponds in North Carolina resulted in effluents. And those effluents are enriched with some contaminants like arsenic and selenium in levels that exceed the EPA regulations for ecological systems.”
Avner Vengosh is an earth scientist at Duke University…
“The problem is that coal ash is not regulated in the United States right now. And that’s kind of the key issue I think. Before starting to talk about how we can look at other resources – which we should – there’s is kind of the immediate call to protect our water resources.”
But as long as we continue to generate power from coal, let’s ensure that we dispose of coal ash properly.
Web Extra
Full interview with Avner Vengosh, an earth scientist at Duke University…
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Vengosh_full_web.mp3|titles=Vengosh_full_web]Photo, taken on April 5, 2006, courtesy of Flickr.