The spilling truth

Coal ash, the waste that remains after coal is combusted, contains some of the most dangerous toxics on the planet -- and it's leaching, leaking and spilling out of disposal sites across the nation. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now considering two possible alternatives for regulation of coal ash. We need you to tell the EPA that to protect public health, states must be required to use effective coal ash disposal technology.

Coal ash toxins can cause cancer, damage the nervous system, and contaminate surface water and drinking water. Yet coal ash disposal is not yet regulated by the federal government, and the loose patchwork of state regulation is inadequate to protect human health. The EPA is weighing two regulatory options:

• One, known as "Subtitle C," would require the states to adhere to strict new federal rules. It would also phase out dangerous wet disposal of coal ash, like the storage pond that burst in Tennessee in 2008, flooding a river valley with a billion gallons of toxic coal ash sludge.
  
  
• The second, "Subtitle D," would set guidelines for coal ash disposal, but allow states to opt out of them. Storage sites not following the optional guidelines could be labeled as "open dumps" -- and then citizens would have to file suit against utility companies in order to enforce the legal prohibitions against open dumps.

Talk about getting it backwards!

Please email the EPA with a clear message: Protection from toxic coal ash requires Subtitle C's strong regulations and mandatory compliance. When it comes to the arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium and other toxic substances in coal ash, we must prevent toxic contamination -- not try to mop it up after it happens.

For background information, see Physicians for Social Responsibility's fact sheets on the health impacts of coal ash toxins,FAQ's on coal ash, and suggestions for filing effective comments with the EPA.