The AP reported Friday that millions of tons of toxic coal ash are piling up at power plant ponds in 32 states, a practice the government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has done nothing about. An AP analysis of the most recent Energy Department records found that 156 coal-fired power plants store ash in surface ponds similar to one that ruptured last month in Tennessee. On Friday, a pond at a northeastern Alabama power plant spilled a different material. The report stated that records indicate that states storing the most coal ash in ponds are Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama. Milam County is listed as having 314,400 tons of coal ash stored.
Luminant spokeswoman Ashley Mott said the company, formerly TXU, disposes of coal combustion byproducts in two ways:
Fly ash, a powdery byproduct that is often sold for reuse in concrete, is disposed of dry (not wet) on-site.
Bottom ash and scrubber byproduct are transported from the plant by pipeline to an on-site, lined pond where it is dewatered. In addition to the liner, which is secure and designed to prevent water seepage, the area is monitored by groundwater monitoring wells to ensure that nothing migrates into groundwater. Once it is dewatered, it is disposed of dry on-site.
“Any remaining coal ash is safely disposed of in registered, approved and inspected landfills at each facility,” Ms. Mott said. “We follow Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) rules and regulations to make sure these are both physically and environmentally safe.”
All Luminant-managed ash disposal areas are inspected by both the company and TCEQ on a regular basis to ensure compliance with all applicable state and federal regulations, Ms. Mott said.
“No landfill failures have ever occurred at a Luminant facility,” Ms. Mott said “Routine inspections and maintenance of our landfills are a priority.”
Luminant actively pursues opportunities to recycle coal ash products, she said. The reuse of materials like this decreases energy costs, reduces emissions and saves landfill space.
Since 1986, Luminant has sold 34.5 billion pounds of coal combustion byproducts. These products are used by the roofing, concrete and carpet industries as well as in oil-field projects and for road paving. In 2007 Luminant sold more than 3.8 billion pounds for re-use, she said.
Coal ash disposal at Luminant’s Sandow Steam Electric Station Unit 4 in Milam County has followed the same procedures since the company began managing disposal at this site in mid-2008, she said.
“In terms of the amount of material, it’s worth noting that this site previously had a number of power plants that are no longer operational,” Ms Mott said, referring to Alcoa Inc.’s Sandow 1, 2, and 3 electrical generating units. Alcoa shut down its three generating units Dec. 31, 2006, as part of a settlement over a lawsuit filed by environmental groups over air pollution of the 50-year-old lignite-fired power plants. The units are being dismantled and shipped to a buyer in Central America.
Travis Brown, president of the environmentalist group Neighbors for Neighbors, said, “Massive amounts of coal ash are being produced by the Sandow 4 power unit at Rockdale, and tons more will be produced when Sandow 5 comes online this summer. The problem is, we don’t know exactly how much coal ash is being produced, where all of it is going and what impact the dumped ash is having on the groundwater supply.”
“Much of the ash produced at Sandow 4 and which will be produced by Sandow 5, is being dumped in old mining pits, which are unlined,” Brown said. “That means toxic materials in this ash could be polluting groundwater, as it has in other parts of the country.”
The AP’s analysis found that in 2005, the most recent year that data is available, 721 power plants generating at least 100 megawatts of electricity produced 95.8 million tons of coal ash. About 20 percent - or nearly 20 million tons - ended up in surface ponds. The remainder ends up in landfills, or is sold for use in concrete, among other uses.
The Environmental Protection Agency eight years ago announced plans to set a national standard for ponds or landfills used to dispose of wastes produced from burning coal, but no rules have been adopted.
In March 2000, the EPA reported that the wastes in landfills have the potential to endanger human health and the environment.
Over the years, the government has found increasing evidence that coal ash ponds and landfills taint the environment and pose risks to humans and wildlife, the AP reported.
