EPA list shows dangerous coal ash sites found in 10 states-is your state one of them?

[babylonsister]

EPA list shows dangerous coal ash sites found in 10 states

By Renee Schoof | McClatchy Newspapers

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The EPA initially refused to disclose the location of the high-hazard sites to the public, saying it would share the information only with members of Congress and their staffs. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, pressed the agency to release the list, saying the public had a right to know.

Coal combustion waste stored for many years in impoundment sites at power plants contains toxins such as arsenic, selenium, cadmium and chromium. Even so, national regulations for coal ash are less strict than those for household trash. The EPA is working on new regulations for coal ash waste that are expected by the end of the year.

The next step is for the EPA to review the information it has gathered about the coal-ash sites and call for cleanup and repairs as needed, the agency said in a news release.

The EPA said the high-hazard rating at the 44 sites didn't mean that they were structurally weak, but rather that a failure would probably kill people nearby.

"The presence of liquid coal ash impoundments near our homes, schools and business could pose a serious risk to life and property in the event of an impoundment rupture," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in a statement. "By compiling a list of these facilities, EPA will be better able to identify and reduce potential risks by working with states and local emergency responders."

The 44 include 10 Duke Energy ponds at plants in Spencer, Eden, Terrell, Belmont, Walnut Cove and Mount Holly, N.C., and two Progress Energy Carolinas ponds in Arden, N.C.; two Kentucky Utilities ponds near Harrodsburg, Ky., and three in Ghent, Ky.; a Louisville Gas & Electric pond in Louisville, Ky.; and a Georgia Power facility in Milledgeville, Ga.

Also on the list was the large Little Blue Run Dam pond that holds waste from the First Energy Generation plant at Shippingport, Pa.

The list also include impoundments in Arizona, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Ohio and Montana.


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[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

1. I used to live near one

in Arden, NC (just south of Asheville). All across NC, Duke Power is King, and their sites are locked up heavier than Area 51.

on edit: removed faulty pic link.

[quidam56]

2. Wise County, Virginia - "THE SAFEST PLACE IN THE WORLD"

is getting two brand spankin' new slurry ponds. Ain't that great ?? www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=138 Appalachia is being bombed, blasted and bulldozed right into 3rd world America.