Article in the NY Times suggests the EPA was ready to declare coal ash a dangerous waste, but backed off at the last minute.
Obviously Alabamians have a dog in this fight, considering the trainloads of the stuff that is shipped every day from the site of the TVS coal ash spill to the private landfill in Perry County.
I don't believe coal ash is as dangerous as, say, pure mercury, or fuel rods from a nuke plant. But neither is it safe for sprinkling on the kid's cereal in the morning.
Lots of money being spent to influence public opinion about this stuff, which no matter what happens to our way of producing power, isn't going away anytime soon. Best we get a grip and neither make light of it nor scare people from coming within a thousand yards of it.
Tim, I appreciate your coverage of this story... which is receiving little "proper" press.
ReplyDeleteFly ash, as it's sometimes also known, can be effectively used in many applications (some to which I believe I have specifically enumerated in previous posts on this topic), which has and continues to prove significantly beneficial in quality and cost.
Why it's not incorporated more into those products - two being cement and asphalt - I do not know.
Yours truly...