Report looks at coal-ash impact

 

Sep 7 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Cathy Dyson The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Va.

 

Because of toxic pollution at other sites across the nation where coal-ash waste has been dumped, King George County residents near the landfill should wonder if the same kind of material might contaminate their water, according to a group that recently studied the dangers of coal ash.

"If they're concerned there could be a threat -- and there certainly is that likelihood -- they should absolutely test for arsenic, mercury, lead" and other toxic metals in the water, said Kate Pollard, a field organizer for the

Sierra Club. "There's a much higher likelihood of contaminants from coal ash leaching into the water than what was previously understood."

The Sierra Club partnered with the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice to produce a report on coal-ash contamination. Called "In Harm's Way: Lack of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and Their Environment," the report was released in late August.

It was timely on national and local levels.

Coal ash is the residue from coal-fired power plants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started hearings last week on whether it should change the way it's handled.

Currently, coal ash is not considered hazardous waste, and many states don't monitor groundwater around landfills and ponds where it's stored, the report stated.

Virginia tests the groundwater at landfills where it's dumped, such as in King George, for some of the metals found in coal-ash waste.

One proposal the EPA is considering would classify coal ash as hazardous and impose strict federal guidelines on its handling. A second proposal calls for federal guidelines but leaves the enforcement up to states.

Meanwhile, the King George landfill has dealt with a different type of problem from coal ash: odors.

For most of 2010, residents of the nearby Oakland Park subdivision have complained about a stench that resident Gary Carrer describes as "gagging."

Last month, officials with Waste Management and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced that coal-ash waste may have been the culprit.

It wasn't the coal ash generated by the Birchwood Power Plant next door. It was waste from an Alexandria plant that had been treated with a different solution than that which the Birchwood plant uses, said James LaFratta, air compliance engineer with the DEQ in Woodbridge.

The chemical solution used on the Alexandria ash typically isn't a problem by itself, LaFratta said. But when it mixed with other deteriorating trash in the landfill, it produced a compound called hydrogen sulfide -- which smells like rotten eggs.

The level of hydrogen sulfide in most landfills averages about 40 parts per million, LaFratta said.

Levels in King George were 1,300 parts per million in June.

Waste Management reacted by not accepting any more coal-ash waste from Alexandria and taking more steps to capture odors. The company installed 32 new wells in the last six months, said Waste Management spokesperson Lisa Kardell.

Just because coal ash has caused a stink doesn't mean it has leached into the groundwater around the landfill, Sierra Club officials said.

Kardell pointed out there's no holding tank for coal ash at King George, although the ash is mixed with the soil and used as a cover. At many of the dumpsites where problems occurred, the liner in a holding tank, or coal-ash pond, burst, and heavy metals, such as arsenic, mercury and lead, leached into the groundwater and spread for miles.

The metals in coal ash cause increased risk of cancer, learning disabilities, birth defects and other illnesses, according to the report.

The study documented 137 sites in 34 states where leaks from ponds or landfills contaminated private wells and public water supplies. Two were in Southwestern Virginia, at plants owned by Appalachian Power Co.

The King George landfill has 14 wells that monitor groundwater. Those wells are tested four times a year for some of the metals found in coal ash -- and more. DEQ looks at 62 different elements and compounds.

"In the history of the King George landfill, there have not been any detections of groundwater impairment above background levels attributable to the landfill," Kardell wrote in an e-mail.

She added that the landfill is triple-lined and "exceeds regulatory requirements" for its usage.

King George residents Carrer and Lucian Laurie both testified at the EPA'shearing in Arlington. Both described, as Laurie said, "the constant stink and the concern about what was actually in the air."

Carrer has been talking with Waste Management officials for months. He's listened to their technical explanations about liners designed to prevent leaching and wells drilled to capture excess odors.

Then, he thinks about the coal-ash waste from Alexandria that's been dumped practically in his backyard. DEQ officials told King George residents it would be months -- or years -- before the smell went away because there's so much there.

From May 2007 to June 2010, King George accepted almost 211,000 tons of coal ash from Alexandria, according to the DEQ.

Residents started complaining about the rotten-egg smell up to two years ago, Carrer said. Yet, the levels of hydrogen sulfide -- known to cause that smell -- were never tested because state regulations don't require it.

That makes Carrer nervous about the water his family consumes, including the grandchildren who live with him.

"If [Waste Management] is so poorly able to measure the airborne elements, it's not a big leap for me to worry about the groundwater," he said.

Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425

Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com

Comments about how coal-ash waste is handled can be submitted to the EPA through Nov. 19. ONLINE: regulations.gov E-MAIL: rcra-docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640 FAX: 202/566-0272; Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640 MAIL: Hazardous Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Special Wastes; Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals From Electric Utilities Docket, Attention Docket ID No., EPA-HQ-RCRA-2009-0640, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 5305T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. 20460. Please include a total of two copies.