List of potentially hazardous coal-ash dumps is out

After refusing for weeks to provide the public with a list of potentially hazardous coal-ash dumps, the Environmental Protection Agency has released a list of 44 such sites in 10 states. Renee Schoof reports for McClatchy Newspapers that the list is a direct result of the Tennessee coal-ash pond spill in December.

Included on the list are 12 sites in North Carolina, seven in Kentucky and a pond in Pennsylvania, which all have the potential to become hazardous to the nearby people and environment. Schoof reports that coal combustion waste contains toxins such as arsenic, selenium, cadmium and chromium. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, pressed EPA for the release of the list and said in a statement that, "One of the lessons we all learned from the TVA coal ash spill is that a close look at these waste sites is extremely important.” (Read more)