ARLINGTON, Va. - Aug 31 - News Sentinel



Environmental activists urged the federal government Monday to regulate toxic ash from coal-fired power plants as hazardous waste, arguing that federal standards are necessary because the states have done a poor job of regulating coal-ash disposal.

"The threat that coal ash poses to human health is serious, and it is widespread," said Barbara Gottlieb of Physicians for Social Responsibility, a nonprofit advocacy group that works to protect the public from environmental toxins.

But road builders and other industries that use recycled coal ash in concrete, cement and other construction materials argued that labeling coal ash as a hazardous substance would devastate the recycling business. Furthermore, they said, there is no scientific proof that coal ash is a danger to public health.

"We hope you will rule on science, not science fi ctionorpolitical science," said Thomas Adams of the American Coal Ash Association.

 Time and again, the starkly contrasting views about the dangers

and benefits of coal ash played out like a point/ counterpoint debate during the opening hearing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to set federal standards for coal ash disposal.

The EPA announced in May that it is considering adopting the fi rst-ever federal standards for coal ash disposal as a result of the catastrophic spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in December 2008.

Some 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash broke free when an earthen storage dam at Kingston collapsed. No one was killed, but the accident sent thick, slimy sludge pouring into the Emory River and damaged nearby houses and property. Cleanup costs are projected at more than $1 billion.

Under one proposal, the EPA would regulate coal ash as "special waste" under the hazardous materials section of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Another approach under consideration would regulate coal ash as a nonhazardous material. Under that scenario, ash could be stored only in ponds that are fitted with a liner, but the federal government would have no enforcement power. Enforcement would be handled through "citizen" lawsuits.

Environmentalists have been pushing for years for the EPA to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste, and they showed up en mass at Monday's hearing just outside of Washington to make their case. They said scientific research shows that coal ash contains mercury, cadmium, arsenic and other heavy metals that can cause cancer and other illnesses.

"In my opinion, it is abundantly clear that the only way EPA can assure a basic level of protection for

Originally published by MICHAEL COLLINS collinsm@shns.com.

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