Toxic Coal Ash in Our Communities
An often unspoken byproduct of coal-fired power is coal ash - this toxic waste that is stored in "ponds" around power plants across the region. In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, there is great concern over the flooding of coal ash ponds in North Carolina. The stress of extra water on the dams could cause a massive leak of the toxic waste, or the floodwaters could spread the toxins through miles of waterways, contaminating communities as the toxic waste spreads out of control.After coal is burned in power plants, the byproduct, coal ash, is collected and stored in ponds or dry landfills across the southeast. Coal-fired power plants in the US produce 140 million tons of coal ash waste each year. This waste contains heavy metals and toxic contaminants, including arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium, cadmium, and chromium. Many of the storage facilities, especially the ponds or ‘lagoons’, do not have waterproof liners, and this toxic ash can leak into groundwater and public drinking water supplies.It was reported this past week that in North Carolina, the pressure placed upon area levys could also put these coal ash ponds at risk, unable to hold back the toxic sludge. This is a dangerous outcome from an already dangerous natural disaster impacting millions of people.The contamination as a result of coal ash is also on the minds of Georgians. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Board of Directors is voting on a formal draft rule on October 26th that will decide whether dumping coal ash in Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is regulated. These landfills were not designed to store large amounts of coal ash, and are often located in small, rural communities. You can TAKE ACTION right now to impact how toxic coal ash is stored in Georgia.We cannot overlook this environmental and health crisis in the southeast and in our Georgia communities. We can expect more storms like Hurricane Matthew and the flooding that follows. We must pray for our neighbors in North Carolina as they face this environmental destruction to their land and water. We must act now to ensure that the toxic waste stored in our communities can withstand such storms. We must act now to end the production of such toxic waste as well. To learn more about this important issue, visit Southeast Coal Ash.