2010.11.17 Press Release
Moms, Families Rally for Toxic Coal Ash Protections
Contact: Virginia Cramer, Sierra Club, 804-225-9113 x102
Last Days for Public Input
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2010
Washington, DC – Concerned families gathered today in front of Environmental Protection Agency headquarters to urge the agency to adopt the strongest possible standards for toxic coal ash. Left over after coal is burned for energy, the ash is known to contain pollution that causes cancer and other serious illnesses. Only a couple of days remain for the public to give input on the new protections.
“As the mother of two young children, I’m calling on the EPA to do the right thing and regulate coal ash as a toxic waste. Far too many children are exposed to this dangerous substance, with devastating consequences to their health, education and well-being,” said Mary Kadera, chair of the Sierra Club’s Mount Vernon group.
"As a parent, I want to ensure that it is safe for my daughter to play in the same yard I grew up in when she visits my parents. As a person of faith, I want to model what it means to be a good steward of the environment and the importance of standing up for what I believe in,” said Caroline Armijo, a member of Calvary Baptist Church who is participating in the campaign through Greater Washington Interfaith Power & Light.
Coal ash is America’s second largest industrial waste stream, with enough coal ash generated each year – approximately 150 million tons – to fill over 340,000 jumbo 747 jets.
Toxic chemicals in coal ash such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, selenium and others, have been linked to human health problems including cancer, organ disease, respiratory illness, neurological damage and reproductive and developmental problems. Studies show that these coal ash toxins can, and have, leaked into drinking water across the country. EPA’s 2010 risk assessment found that the cancer risk from drinking water contaminated with arsenic from coal ash disposed in unlined ponds is as high as 1 in 50 adults, 2,000 times the level the EPA deems “acceptable.”
Despite the dangers, toxic coal ash waste has been left mostly unregulated. The lack of federally enforceable safeguards tragically led to a spill of more than 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash from a pond near Knoxville, Tennessee in 2008. The disaster destroyed 300 acres and dozens of homes, killed fish and other wildlife, and poisoned the Emory and Clinch Rivers – forever changing the lives of the families in the community.
“The time has come for EPA to regulate toxic coal ash as a hazardous waste at the federal level because the states are not adequately enforcing coal ash regulations in order to protect human health. Increasingly, states are underfunded and lack adequate resources to fully address the dangerous nature of coal ash. Some states don’t even regulate coal ash. There has been no consistency in the regulation of this toxic substance from state to state and that is why we are seeing so many damage cases threatening local waterways and drinking water. It’s time to address this health hazard at the federal level, once and for all.” says Diana Dascalu-Joffe, staff attorney at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.
Currently the EPA is weighing two options for federal regulation of coal ash. One option (subtitle C) the EPA proposed would create strong safeguards to protect public health from the threat of coal ash, including mandatory water quality monitoring, record keeping and protections against runoff – reasonable and worthwhile measures as evidenced by 30 years of research. The other (subtitle D) is supported by power companies and other big polluters and would retain the failed status quo and do very little to ensure protections for our drinking water and public health.
The groups today are calling on EPA to enact the federally enforceable, subtitle C option. The public comment period on the rule ends November 19th.
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Contact: Virginia Cramer, Sierra Club, 804-225-9113 x102