Elevated Levels Of Arsenic, Radium, Mercury, More Found In Groundwater @ 70+ Coal Sites Nationwide
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Released on Friday, the data found elevated levels of toxic pollutants like arsenic and radium in the groundwater near more than 70 coal-fired power plants and coal ash disposal sites across the United States. The reports, made publicly available by utilities as part of the first-ever federal regulations on coal ash, come just one day after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced the agency’s intention to weaken federal regulations on coal ash disposal.
“Today is the first time that many American communities will know the extent of groundwater contamination from utilities disposing of their coal ash in leaking, unlined pits sitting in groundwater next to our drinking water resources,” Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, said on Friday in a press statement released in advance of the utilities’ reporting data.
“But, giving a favor to industry lobbyists, the Trump administration just announced that it wants to weaken this provision and protect the polluters instead of the people and clean water. Instead of doing the right thing, politically powerful utilities are fighting to continue polluting and to avoid cleanup and the consequences of their toxic pollution.”
For decades, coal ash — which contains toxic heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, and lead, as well as radioactive elements — was a virtually unregulated waste stream in the United States. Utilities were allowed to dispose of the waste in unlined landfills or earthen pits, and often mixed the coal ash with water to create massive ponds or lagoons located hundreds of feet from homes and communities.
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https://thinkprogress.org/coal-ash-polluting-groundwater-utility-data-b60093030a0a/