Coal Ash is Dirty Stuff, But is it Hazardous?
This question has been posed by coal ash’s recent notoriety, and the answer is without consensus. European scientists recently published a paper aimed at determining the levels of mercury in coal ash (one of coal's more dangerous components) and its potential to leach into the surrounding environment. The researchers concluded that concentrations of mercury or leaching values were not so high as to justify considering coal ash a hazardous waste by European standards. (The EPA has made a similar determination but it is being reviewed.)
Such findings, while restricted to mercury, seem to take the fire out of recent lawsuits filed by individuals affected by coal ash spills and/or disposal claiming coal ash mercury and other components are leaching into water sources at dangerous levels. While mercury, arsenic, lead and other compounds are undeniably harmful at certain exposure levels their concentration and propensity to leach are not so clear. Thus, the question of coal ash harmfulness is subject to debate and will be studied in greater detail by courts and administrative agencies grappling with this issue.
