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A billion gallons of toxic sludge

-- Amanda Meade -- 01/07/2009

Coal ash is not classified as hazardous waste although it contains concentrated residues of arsenic, mercury, lead, and selenium. These are all classified as toxic and proven to be harmful to humans and the surrounding environment.

This is the reality of 'clean' coal.

No longer concentrated in the air from smokestacks but stored up in toxic ponds of sludge. Now, it comes at us from ground level seeping into our water through wells, rivers and lakes. Poisoning our fish and deforming wildlife. Toxic chemicals that slowly work their way into the food chain and into our bodies to cause brain damage, cancer, learning disabilities and respiratory diseases.

From the New York Times:

“Contaminants and waste products that once spewed through the coal plants’ smokestacks are increasingly captured in the form of solid waste, held in huge piles (over 1,300) in 46 states, near cities like Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Tampa, Fla., and on the shores of Lake Erie, Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River.

Numerous studies have shown that the ash can leach toxic substances that can cause cancer, birth defects and other health problems in humans, and can decimate fish, bird and frog populations in and around ash dumps, causing developmental problems like tadpoles born without teeth, or fish with severe spinal deformities. “