Is clean coal realistic?

The short answer: no. Not without completely restructuring not only the way coal burning power plants operate, but also completely restructuring the way the mining industry is regulated and monitored.


On December 22, 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash sludge spilled out of a 40-acre retention pond when a dam burst at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Coal Plant. The amount of sludge was enough to fill 1,660 Olympic-size swimming pools, and the volume released was about 50 times larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. How did this happen? TVA was using an unregulated and unlined dam more than 50 feet high to store coal ash, the residue that results from burning coal. Some companies dump this ash into old coal mines. Others use it in cement. But much of the ash is stored in ponds which do not seem to be regulated in any way. This was a huge disaster for not only the people who live in the area, but for the area's soil and waterways. The toxic heavy metals and sludge will contaminate this area for many years to come. On January 1, 2009 the first independent test results, conducted at the Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry laboratories at Appalachian State University, showed significantly elevated levels of toxic metals (including arsenic, copper, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, and thallium) in samples of slurry and river water. Of course, a TVA spokesman said that the TVA was "taking steps to stabilize runoff from this incident." In response to a video that showed dead fish, he stated "in terms of toxicity, until an analysis comes in, you can't call it toxic." While describing the coal ash, he said "it does have some heavy metals within it, but it's not toxic or anything." Hmmm. I would guess that the heavy metal contamination of fields will last for hundreds of years. Will TVA be forced to change the way they store coal ash? I certainly hope so. As long as coal ash is stored in this manner, coal is not clean. Here's a video showing what the river looked like several days after the spill. It's really quite disgusting.




So... is this the first time a disaster like this has happened? No. Another dam associated with an actual mining operation occurred in 2000, and another dam near Guntersville, AL leaked this month. There are many more examples of problems with these ponds. To learn more about the 2000 incident in Kentucky, which the responsible mining company was only fined $5000, watch the following 30 minute video (available for free until the end of January).

http://appalshop.org/sludge/stream.php

Until these kinds of abuses are stopped, until the mining and power industry faces strong regulation, disasters like this will continue to occur, and in the process will continue to destroy homes, fields, water supplies, and waterways.

Some additional disturbing articles about this issue:

Toxic Coal Ash Piling up in ponds in 32 states: Records indicate that states storing the most coal ash in ponds are Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama.

Coal Ash More Radioactive Than Nuclear Waste

Kingston article on Wikipedia (usually I don't like linking to Wiki, but this articles has good information).

Yummy! Mercury!

Several years ago I turned into a fanatical label reader. I avoid products with hydrogenated oil and high fructose corn syrup. Why corn syrup? It's just a sweetener, after all. Well, I have read too many things about it to feel good about eating it. An article I just read makes me happy I cut this food item out of my diet:

Studies Find Mercury in Much US Corn Syrup

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many common foods made using commercial high fructose corn syrup contain mercury as well, researchers reported on Tuesday, while another study suggested the corn syrup itself is contaminated.

Food processors and the corn syrup industry group attacked the findings as flawed and outdated, but the researchers said it was important for people to know about any potential sources of the toxic metal in their food.

In one study, published in the journal Environmental Health, former Food and Drug Administration scientist Renee Dufault and colleagues tested 20 samples of high fructose corn syrup and found detectable mercury in nine of the 20 samples.

There are a couple of things about the study of actual food items that don't seem well designed. If you read the entire article you may wonder why the study on actual food items didn't also test food without corn syrup but manufactured in the same plants to see if the mercury was actually in the corn syrup or was a byproduct of the manufacturing process. Either answer would be equally bad, but would be more conclusive. But the first study by itself is enough to make me quite happy to continue to avoid the yummy sounding high fructose corn syrup.

Good news, bad news, getting back to normal

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. My brain just hurt after this political season (really the last 2 years). I'd been glued to political commentary sites, Obama volunteer remailers, and other resources trying to do my very small part to help Obama win. I just needed a break. On the other hand, even after the election, I felt compelled to scour news sites every day to see what last minute mischief Bush was up to (lots, apparently). But now, I feel a complete and total sense of relief. So far I've been pleased with Obama's performance on the job. It's just so refreshing to have a president I actually respect, and even better, a president who respects our Constitution. But those of us who worked our hineys off to get a Democrat into office shouldn't just skip off into the sunset singing kumbaya. There's still bad news out there and lots to do. I just read a disturbing report from NOAA about the real impact of climate change:

…the climate change that is taking place because of increases in carbon dioxide concentration is largely irreversible for 1,000 years after emissions stop…. Among illustrative irreversible impacts that should be expected if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase from current levels near 385 parts per million by volume (ppmv) to a peak of 450-600 ppmv over the coming century are irreversible dry-season rainfall reductions in several regions comparable to those of the ”dust bowl” era and inexorable sea level rise.

That's scary. Is there anything we can really do to prevent such a catastrophe? Another piece of disturbing news (and one of the main reasons I have yet to give in to my desire to move to southeastern Utah)--the American southwest may "permanent dry up":

The serious hydrological changes and impacts known to have occurred in both historic and prehistoric times over North America reflect large-scale changes in the climate system that can develop in a matter of years and, in the case of the more severe past megadroughts, persist for decades. Such hydrological changes fit the definition of abrupt change because they occur faster than the time scales needed for human and natural systems to adapt, leading to substantial disruptions in those systems. In the Southwest, for example, the models project a permanent drying by the mid-21st century that reaches the level of aridity seen in historical droughts, and a quarter of the projections may reach this level of aridity much earlier.

The desert southwest has experienced very severe and prolonged drought in the prehistoric past, but at that time, there weren't all that many people there. When drought worsened, people generally just picked up and moved to more hospitable areas. Now, the southwest has millions and millions of people relying on water resources that evidently may just completely dry up. Not good.

So among all the good political news, there is still lots of work for conservationists to do. But at least we now have a president who will listen to and value scientists.