There are many problems with coal, many of which you've probably read me write about before. One often overlooked problem with coal (aside from the carbon doxide emissions from burning it, and the massive environmental destruction from mining it) is what to do with after it's been mined and burned. Coal combustion waste, or more commonly referred to as coal ash, is a toxic brew of metals and other pollutants that is the byproduct of coal-fired power generation.
Earthjustice and the Clean Air Task Force produced a report this month detailing the problems associated with coal ash disposal and contamination of groundwater supplies at ten sites in Pennsylvania. each year, millions of tons of coal ash are placed in abandoned and active mines, and eventually contaminate water supplies with mercury, arsenic, lead and other toxic metals.
However, this is not just a problem for the Keystone State. At least 23 states have reported poisoned ground and surface waters as a result of improper coal ash disposal. We're petitioning the EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to reconsider better safeguards for disposing of coal ash, the nation's second largest industrial waste stream.
As if there weren't reason enough already to begin minimizing our dependence on coal-fired power (global warming, acid rain, buried streams, decapitated mountains), the simple equation that more coal means more coal ash should really be cause for pause when considering America's energy future and the (hopefully limited) role that coal should play.