Coal ash is the waste product of combustion in coal-fired power plants, which generate half the electricity in the U.S. Due in part to a 2008 spill in Tennessee that flooded over 300 acres of land, severely damaging homes and property, the EPA is considering whether coal ash should be regulated as hazardous waste. A decision is expected in late 2009. Currently, coal ash is recycled as fill for golf courses, and used in dozens of consumer products including top soil and carpeting -- right where children crawl and play. Click below to learn more.
Is Your Baby Crawling on Carpet Made of Coal Ash?
Deirdre Imus writes about coal ash in the Huffington Post.
The town of Kingston, Tennessee experienced a coal ash spill in December 2008 that was worse than the Exxon Valdez spill. CBS’s "60 Minutes" featured this story on Sunday, 10/2/09:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/01/60minutes/main5356202.shtml
This "60 Minutes" preview offers an overview of the issue:
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/60_minutes/video/?pid=1Vbu97Tr9SFefGkjGqguj6iZRW3_w3FX&vs=Default&play=true
Coal ash is currently recycled into fill for golf courses, in products like top soil for residential use, and in consumer products like carpeting -- products children play and crawl on. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering labeling it as hazardous waste: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/nov/03/coal-ash-disposal-loophole-feared-epa-considers-ne/
The EPA issued a press release in response to the Kingston, Tennessee spill:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/b2856087389fb82485257574007409c1%21OpenDocument
The American Coal Ash Association's Education Foundation website describes recycling coal ash into consumer products:
http://www.coalashfacts.org/
ACAA Fact Sheet:
http://www.coalashfacts.org/documents/CCP%20Fact%20Sheet%206%20-%20Recycling%20by%20another%20name.pdf
A news release from CommonDreams.org describes the partnership between the EPA and the coal ash industry that promotes coal ash recycling:
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/10/05-1
The Coal Ash Debate
http://earth911.com/blog/2009/10/12/the-coal-ash-debate/
Trash or Treasure: Putting Coal Combustion Waste to Work
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2801204/
Balancing Act: Creating the Right Regulation for Coal Combustion Waste
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/117-a498/
Last updated 6-8-2016