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Coal ash can be called hazardous waste
A new testing method by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reveals that pollutants such as arsenic, antimony, chromium and selenium, can leach from coal ash at levels dozens and sometimes hundreds of times greater than the federal drinking water standard. This news comes on the heels of EPA's proposal to regulate coal ash, in which the agency offered two options: a plan to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste and another to regulate it as non-hazardous.
According to EPA's new testing data, cited in the agency's proposed rule released yesterday, pollution from coal ash can shatter the "hazardous waste" threshold, an important factor as the EPA is facing pressure from industry to avoid defining coal ash as hazardous waste. The new testing procedure emphasizes the need for the EPA to make the right decision and choose the stronger of the two proposals for federally enforceable coal ash safeguards that use the strongest limits of the law to protect the communities living near coal ash sites.
In December 2009, the EPA produced a report examining the fate of pollution captured in smokestacks at coal-fired power pants. The report was quietly posted to the EPA's website, but offered groundbreaking results. The EPA tested over 70 samples of ash and sludge from numerous power plants. The results revealed the potential for some ashes and sludges to release large concentrations of toxic chemicals. According to new testing methods on coal ash applied by the EPA's Office of Research and Development:
* Arsenic, a potent carcinogen, leached from one coal ash at 1,800 times the federal safe drinking water standard, more than 3 times the threshold of hazardous waste and over 76 times the level of previous leach tests;