Dumpsites in disguise: NC offers coal ash case study

Coal ash isn't just dumped; it's increasingly being recycled into building materials and other uses. But in states like North Carolina, the failure to adequately regulate one so-called "beneficial use" of the toxic-filled waste is putting communities at risk. After coal is burned at power plants, leaving massive heaps of ash, not all of the waste ends up in landfills and impoundments like the one that failed catastrophically in east Tennessee in December 2008. A growing share of the nation's coal ash is being reused and recycled, finding its way into building materials, publicly used land and even farmland growing food crops. And despite the presence of toxins like arsenic, chromium and lead found in coal ash, these reuses go largely unregulated by state and federal officials. The latest report from the American Coal Ash Association, the industry group representing major coal ash producers, found that of the more than 136 million tons of coal ash produced in 2008, about 44 percent -- 60 million tons -- was reused. Some of the reuses for coal ash, such as recycling it into concrete, are not very controversial even among environmental advocates, since they're believed to lock in toxic contaminants. But there are growing concerns about other reuses of coal ash. For example, the recent revelation that Chinese-manufactured drywall made with coal ash was releasing noxious chemicals inside people's homes spurred a CBS investigation that also found problems with U.S.-made drywall products. The discovery led the Consumer Product Safety Commission to call for a closer look at drywall products made with coal ash.