United States Environmental | Toxic coal | Florida to Puerto Rico | Fly Ash
The AES power plant in Puerto Rico generates 300,000 tons of coal ash, the toxic byproduct of coal burned to generate electricity, each year. The residents of the island, understandably, don't want to be near the toxic elements, so they passed a law "to prohibit the deposit and disposal of coal ashes or coal combustion residues in Puerto Rico."
So where does the coal ash go? A lot of it — tens of thousands of tons — makes its way to the mainland U.S.
News tracked one cargo ship, the Mississippi Enterprise, as it was hauling coal ash into Jacksonville, Florida. From there, the ash is taken to Chesser Island landfill in Folkston, Georgia, as reported by local Puerto Rican journalist Abner Dennis and Omar Alfonso. In addition, the law prevents the ash from being stored on the island for more than 180 days.
Santiago claimed that people in the community of Miramar in Guayama, Puerto Rico, have been adversely affected by exposure to the ash, as well as those in other communities surrounding the plant.
Lawyer and activist Ruth Santiago, who has been battling AES to provide better safeguards in disposing the coal ash, warned communities in Florida and elsewhere where the ash was being disposed: "They should not allow the import of the toxic coal ash to their communities."
Her concern is shared by Puerto Rican residents who worry about the transportation of the coal ash.
"People don't want this coal ash waste to go anywhere else. It's toxic. We know it's gonna do harm wherever it goes other than a Subtitle-C landfill," Santiago said, referring to landfills specifically designated to house hazardous solid waste.
Professor of environmental chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico exposed to ashes. Osvaldo is about Rosario.
"When you look at what it is made of, the key ingredients, the chemical substances that make the ash - you get sinister things like arsenic, selenium, chromium-6, vanadium. Many of these are toxic and carcinogenic materials." he said.
"These metals don't burn off. They don't evaporate," Rosario explained. "But through the burning process, you have concentrated them — making it a more dangerous material to dispose of."
The metals in coal ash are particularly harmful due to the nature of burning coal. Rosario said exposure can lead to respiratory problems, higher levels of cancer and skin rashes. Multiple studies have shown the risks.
On December 22, 2008, a mic burst at the Tennessee Valley Authority power plant and spilled over a billion gallons of coal ash. Elmer Lowe was hired as a sweeper and is part of an ongoing lawsuit against the company that hired him.Lowe said he was "in full health" when he was tasked to clean up the spill without the necessary protective gear.
Lowe had gone from an active, healthy man to weighing just 112 pounds and prescribed several medications. "It looked like it was white, and it was clay, and it was nasty mud," Lowe's wife, Donna, said. "But it wasn't mud, it was the coal ash on him." The Obama administration responded to the spill in 2015, establishing new federal regulations for coal ash storage, which included monitoring nearby groundwater as well as the disposal.
