Word: coaling
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...this disaster been a nuclear accident, citizens and Congress would rightfully be up in arms. But the largest fly-ash spill in American history has marshaled little public opposition to coal. Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress continue to regard “clean coal” as a potential major source of green energy. Despite significant advances in coal technology, commendable progress in reducing air pollution, and reductions in mining’s environmental impact, the Kingston spill demonstrates that coal is not yet a viable option for long-term “clean” fuel production...
...Admittedly, there are reasonable arguments to be made in favor of the continued use of coal. It is cheap, abundant, and domestically produced. Smokestack scrubbers remove most of the pollutants in coal before they can be emitted into the atmosphere. The federal government requires mining companies to restore exhausted mines to their former natural state. Electric utilities also claim that discoveries in coal gasification (the production of synthetic natural gas from coal) and carbon sequestration will dramatically reduce resultant greenhouse- gas emissions, rendering coal an ideal fuel for a post-cap-and-trade future...
...American coal-fired power plants produce 130 million tons of fly ash every year. Industry reuses some of it for asphalt, cement, and brick manufacture, but 57 percent of fly ash is disposed of in hundreds of landfills across the country. Astonishingly, the Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate fly ash, which contains arsenic, lead, mercury, and uranium, as a hazardous material. It recommends that coal plants store fly ash in insulation-lined landfills to prevent leakage but has no mandate to actually enforce this suggestion...
...just in Kingston. A 2007 EPA report concluded that fly ash had contaminated surface and ground water at 67 sites. Last month, the Department of the Interior found that 27 percent of American freshwater fish contained unsafe levels of mercury; fly-ash pollution is a likely contributing factor. The coal industry’s failure to safely dispose of fly ash has put hundreds of American towns in harm’s way. A rapid and meaningful response from the federal government is needed to prevent future disasters...
...director, Lisa Jackson, announced a plan to inspect disposal sites, order cleanups and repairs, and develop safety regulations to be announced by December. Furthermore, Representative Nick Rahall has proposed legislation that would federally mandate engineering standards for fly-ash impoundments. The TVA is now preparing to convert its coal waste disposal from slurry form to dry storage, which is much less likely to leach into soil and cause toxic spills...