Duke Energy Agrees Paying For Trichlomethane In Drinking Water "Right Thing To Do"
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From this power plant, a coal-waste substance known as bromide, discharged legally into the tributary, has been causing trouble for the downstream town of Madison and the city of Eden, as well as buyers of Madison’s and Eden’s drinking water, such as Rockingham County and Henry County, Va., according to public-record emails between officials with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In the treated drinking water of Madison and Eden, a little more than two years ago, lurked potentially unsafe levels of trihalomethane – levels that were near to or in excess of the safe limit set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the emails. The substance, according to the EPA, poses a cancer risk: “Some people who drink water containing total trihalomethanes in excess of the MCL (safety limit) over many years could experience liver, kidney or central nervous system problems and increased risk of cancer.”
Bromide from the Belews Creek power plant was a primary cause of trihalomethane, according to the emails, local officials and Duke Energy. The elevated levels of trihalomethane, conservationists say, present another cautionary tale of the risks posed by allowing coal-waste dumps to leach potentially toxic waste into North Carolina’s rivers, streams, lakes and groundwater.
“I think we’re just looking at the tip of the iceberg,” said Dean Naujoks, the executive director of the Yadkin Riverkeeper. “What else don’t we know about?”
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http://www.journalnow.com/news/local/discharge-from-belews-creek-power-plant-affects-water-quality/article_8e6f8202-a305-580d-a389-d96da37d5629.html