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New Analysis Reveals amount
of Dangerous Waste From Proposed Coal Plants
New Coal Plants Would
Create Nearly 18 Million Tons of Waste Annually
New Analysis Ranks
"Filthy 15" States by Coal Ash
Produced by Proposed Plants
Washington, D.C. (March
12, 2009) -- Proposed coal plants across the United
States would produce nearly 18 million tons of
dangerous waste, including toxic metals, each year.
Nearly 130 million tons of coal waste from existing
plants is being produced annually, most of which
is disposed of in largely unregulated landfills,
ponds and other locations, posing serious public
health and environmental risks.
According to a new
analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council,
the 15 states that would be the biggest polluters
-- the “Filthy 15” -- have proposals for 54 coal
plants and would create nearly 14 million tons of
dangerous waste.
The list is topped by
Texas (rank #1, 8 proposed plants, 4,093,087 tons of
coal ash waste); followed by: South Dakota (#2, 2,
952,630); Florida (#3, 3, 911,118); Nevada (#4, 3,
888,272); Montana (#5, 3, 848,278); Illinois (#6, 4;
797,450); South Carolina (#7, 2, 731,110); Ohio (#8,
3, 711,616); Wyoming (#9, 5, 697,850); Michigan
(#10, 5, 686,897); Kentucky (#11, 4, 593,662);
Missouri (#12, 4, 515,709); Wisconsin (#13, 3,
507,952); Georgia (#14, 2; 445,202); and West
Virginia (#15, 3, 430,275).
“Coal waste poses a
large and unnecessary risk to people’s health and
the environment, and we need to act before another
Kingston disaster strikes,” said Peter Lehner,
executive director of NRDC, “The EPA took a big step
forward this week by announcing it will regulate
coal ash, but they need to quickly examine how coal
waste is handled and ensure proper management and
disposal are in place at all new plants.”
Earlier this week, EPA
announced that it would begin to regulate coal ash,
a shift in position after years of delay. Many
states currently allow dangerous coal waste to be
dumped, without proper oversight, into poorly
constructed landfills, ponds and even old mines.
These storage facilities risk having coal waste seep
into ground water or breaking, like the Kingston,
Tennessee, disaster that unleashed 1 billion gallons
of coal ash last December.
Following is footage from
the coal ash spill at the Tennessee Valley's Authority's Kingston plant
in Harriman, Tennessee.
Below shows a canoe trip down a local
river and the effects of the spill.
Below shows a clean up in front of a
residence effected by the spill.
The EPA conducted an assessment in 2007
that showed that certain types of ash disposal sites pose a cancer
risk nearly 1,000 times the acceptable level. EPA also identified 24
sites in 13 states that are known or suspected to be contaminated by
coal ash, but has not been regulating coal ash disposal, instead
allowing states to set their own regulations, which are typically
weak.
According to the new NRDC analysis,
proposed coal plants would also produce more than 18,000 tons
annually of toxic metals -- like arsenic, mercury, lead, and other
toxic substances. The toxic metals that are often found in coal
waste can pose serious health risks to people – especially children
-- including cancer, birth defects, reproductive problems, damage
to the nervous system and kidneys, and learning disabilities.
NRDC – COAL WASTE – ADD ONE The “Filthy 15” states with
proposed plants that would produce largest amount of toxic materials
is led by Texas; and includes: South Dakota, Florida, Ohio,
Illinois, Nevada, Montana, South Carolina, Kentucky, Wyoming,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, West Virginia and Georgia.
“There are cleaner, safer and more
sustainable energy choices available,” said Lehner. “America should
be moving toward energy efficiency and renewable energy sources that
will drive our economic recovery and meet the challenges of the 21st
Century.”
In conjunction with the new analysis,
NRDC has released a new Web site that includes a state-by-state
breakdown of the total amount annually of waste, including toxic
metals, from existing and proposed plants. Go to:
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/coalwaste.
The Natural Resources Defense Council is
a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and
environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and
the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and
online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington,
Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.
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