Joe Feldman remembers the black grit underfoot when he was growing up decades ago in the country near St. The use of coal ash, also known as cinders, to create traction on snowy and icy roads goes way back. In Missouri, for example, bottom ash used on roads is specifically exempted from the oversight provided by the solid-waste permit process, provided that “a health hazard is not created.” ‘They wouldn’t give it to us if it wasn’t safe’ Regulations at the state level are spotty. The Environmental Protection Association has made attempts to write regulations pertaining to the disposal and use of coal ash, but has been hampered repeatedly by Congress.
It’s not benign.”Īdding to the uncertainty about the environmental and health effects of coal ash is a broader lack of government oversight. “I don’t think it can be assumed to be safe,” Evans said.
The technology generally used to assess the toxicity of coal ash has been dismissed as largely uninformative, and a new process approved two years ago by the Environmental Protection Agency is not yet in wide use. Lisa Evans, a lawyer who focuses on coal ash-related issues for the non-profit Earthjustice, said it’s not clear just how the metals in coal ash might impact their surroundings. The heavy metals present in coal ash are, at sufficient concentrations, “some of the most dangerous substances in the world.” Chromium, for example, is a “very dangerous carcinogen,” especially when wet, Gottlieb noted. “This should be recognized as a problem,” she said. “None of these things exist in concentrations anywhere near what the EPA is concerned about,” he said.īarb Gottlieb, director of environment and health for Physicians for Social Responsibility, isn’t so sure. Tom Adams, executive director of the American Coal Ash Association, dismisses the bottom ash used on roadways as mere “coal dirt.” And although it harbors varying amounts of toxic heavy metals including arsenic, lead, chromium and cadmium, Adams says the amounts are no higher than in the rock and dirt native to many areas of the country. And it’s one way that at least some Midwestern communities provide traction on snowy and icy roads.īut what’s left behind in the nearby water and soil when this byproduct from coal-fired power plants is spread on roads? (AP Photo/The Muscatine Journal, Beth Van Zandt)Ĭoal ash, the residue from burning coal to generate electricity, is abundant, and cheap. Coal ash is used to provide traction on icy roads in Muscatine, Iowa.
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