Don’t put me near coal ash
On July 22, I read a short article in the Observer-Reporter stating that the U.S. House of Representatives voted 258-166 to grant states the authority to regulate waste generated from coal burned for electricity. The rule set the first national standards for coal ash, treating it more like household garbage than a hazardous material.
In the early 1980s, our solid fuels branch at the Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center in South Park studied sulfur dioxide removal, and the compounds found in coal ash. Various levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, beryllium and mercury were found in the coal ash, depending on the coal that was burned.
How can the U.S. House give states the authority to pass laws that classify fly ash the same as household waste? Knowing what I know about fly ash, I do not want to be near any place that stores it.
Richard Demski
Finleyville