Every year, the state of Florida produces more than 8 billion pounds of coal ash. Coal ash is the toxic byproduct that emanates from the 15 coal-fired plants in the Sunshine State. Often it's stored in landfills or disposal ponds. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), coal ash contains heavy metals that can cause cancer and damage the nervous system.
A new report from the Clean Water Fund says there are concerns about coal ash in Florida, mainly the failure of state and federal requirements to establish protective standards.
37% of Florida’s reported coal ash landfills are unlined, 80% lack a leachate collection system, and even more are unmonitored and uncovered. As the federal and state governments do not require even the most elementary protective standards, utilities remain in full compliance without a single facility known to have all of the possible protections in place.
Seven plants have already contaminated Florida's ground and surface water with arsenic, mercury, chromium, sulfates, and other toxic chemicals from coal ash disposal sites.
This article appears in Sep 13-19, 2012.