Nov 26, 2008 5:28 pm US/Eastern
Fly Ash Makes Some Water Undrinkable In A.A. Co.
GAMBRILLS, Md. (WJZ) ―
-
-
Groundwater contaminated by fly ash has already generated a fine and the settlement of a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
CBS
Groundwater contaminated by fly ash has already generated a fine and the settlement of a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
Now, as
Alex DeMetrick reports, it's birthing a change in the law.
Coal is what fires most of Maryland's electric-generating power plants, but greenhouse gases aren't the only pollutants. There is also fly ash, the residue that's left after coal is burned.
Half of that ash is recycled into construction material. The rest goes into landfills and abandoned quarries.
Constellation Energy is currently restoring a dump site in the Gambrills area of Anne Arundel County, where toxins from the ash entered groundwater. For 23 nearby homes, that's left well water undrinkable.
Constellation Energy stopped dumping fly ash there last year, when it paid a million dollar fine. It also settled a multi-million dollar lawsuit with homeowners. Now it and other coal industries are facing a change in the law.
"That means there's going to have to be liners at these sites. That means there's going to be monitoring of these sites and reporting not only to the Department of Environment but to local health officials if there's any contamination," said Dawn Stoltfus, Maryland Department of Environment.
That could include toxins like arsenic, lead and cadmium--contaminants linked to cancer.
Coal is still what keeps the lights on for most of Maryland and that also produces two million tons of ash each year.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Winter Storm Hits Maryland, Part 3
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments