1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff. 2 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 1: Lauren Bogelbaum here Shortly after Hurricane Matthews stormed through North 3 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:16,800 Speaker 1: Carolina in October, swelling the Noose River to a level 4 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,919 Speaker 1: never seen before. One Matthew Star ventured out on the 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,279 Speaker 1: river to see some of the damage himself. In the 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 1: article this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke 7 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: with Star, the Upper Noose River keeper for Sound Rivers, 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: a nonprofit that monitors and protects the Noose and Tar 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:38,480 Speaker 1: Pamlico River basins. He said, well, when the flood water receded, 10 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: I was out on the boat doing a patrol on 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: one of the inactive ash ponds, and it really looked 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: like a winter wonderland. Here was this white, very fine 13 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: ash up in the trees, on the water, on the trunks, 14 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 1: on the leaves. It was just everywhere. If you just 15 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: slightly bumped a tree, it would just rain down this 16 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: very fine ash. Fast forward two years later, not a 17 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:07,479 Speaker 1: single shovel of ash has been removed. The ash Star 18 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: speaks of is whole ash, an ecological can that the state, 19 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: in the whole country has been kicking down the road 20 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: for decades. More than thirty thousand tons of coal ash 21 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: spilled into the Dan River, the two fourteen mile or 22 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,960 Speaker 1: three kilometer river that crosses the Virginia North Carolina line 23 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 1: eight times and something the locals came to call the 24 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:36,040 Speaker 1: heartbreak on the Dan. How Stuff Works also spoke with 25 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: Brian Williams, the Virginia program manager for the Dan River 26 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 1: Basin Association, who was one of the first on the scene. 27 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: He said the river ran gray for weeks after that. 28 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: People still ask me, is it's safe to go waiting 29 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: in the river. I don't know. I can't say the 30 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: same thing about it that I used to be able to. 31 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 1: Coal lash is just what it says on the box. 32 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: It's what's left over from burning coal. The coal consumption 33 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: has dropped dramatically in recent years. It peaked in two 34 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 1: thousand seven, and the electric power sector used less coal 35 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen than in any year since nine three, 36 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: but power plants throughout the nation still use a staggering 37 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,400 Speaker 1: amount of it. About seven hundred and seventeen million tons 38 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: of coal were consumed in twenty seventeen, most used to 39 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: produce electricity. About thirty percent of the nation's energy still 40 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 1: comes from coal, and of course millions and millions of 41 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: tons of coal ash are left over from when the 42 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: US was more coal dependent. The Environmental Protection Agency or 43 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: e p A says that coal ash is one of 44 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: the largest types of industrial waste produced in the United States. 45 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: More than a hundred and thirty million tons of the 46 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: stuff was generated in fourteen alone. Though there are some 47 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: uses for the ash to strengthen things like wallboard and concrete, Mainly, 48 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: most is discarded into dry landfills or wet ponds near 49 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,079 Speaker 1: the power plants where it's produced as it has been 50 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:09,400 Speaker 1: for decades, and where it just sits until that is 51 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: something happens a flooding river or lake nearby, a dam break, 52 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: and then catastrophe rivers and streams the air. Coal burning 53 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: plants are used to cool machinery and produce steam, but 54 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: they also provide a way out for the ash if 55 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:28,399 Speaker 1: it's not disposed of properly, and the problem with coal 56 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:30,800 Speaker 1: ash getting loose in the environment is that it is, 57 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: in a word, toxic, to quote the Organization Physicians for 58 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 1: Social Responsibility. Coal ash typically contains heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, 59 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: and selenium, as well as aluminum antimony, barium, beryllium, boron, chlorine, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, ballium, vanadium, 60 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: and zinc. If eaten, drunk or inhaled, these toxicants can 61 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,240 Speaker 1: cause cancer and nervous system impacts, such as cognitive defects, 62 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: developmental delays, and behavioral problems. They can also cause heart damage, 63 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: lung disease, respiratory distress, kidney disease, reproductive problems, gastro intestinal illness, 64 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: birth defects, and impaired bone growth in children. The worst 65 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: coal ash spill ever came in December of two eight, 66 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: when a dike at the storage site at the Tennessee 67 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:27,719 Speaker 1: Valley Authorities Kingston Fossil Fuel power plant burst, releasing five 68 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 1: point four million cubic yards of wet ash into the 69 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:34,240 Speaker 1: surrounding land. The sludge covered some three hundred acres that's 70 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: a hundred and twenty hectors, befouling land and waters and 71 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: prompting a year's long cleanup. More than thirty workers charged 72 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: with getting rid of the coal ash have already died, 73 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: allegedly from long term exposure to the toxins. At least 74 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,720 Speaker 1: two hundred more are sick or dying lawsuits are pending. 75 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:57,040 Speaker 1: North Carolina has had a few spills after the Dan 76 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: River disaster. Rains from Hurricane Matthew in twenty six and 77 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: Hurricane Florence in September caused kalash to spill into other 78 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: North Carolina rivers, though Duke Energy, the state's largest utility, 79 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: says the damage from the Hurricane Florence spill is minimal. 80 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: A statement released in September by the Upper Noose River 81 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:21,720 Speaker 1: Keeper and Waterkeeper Alliance disputes that claim. An analysis by 82 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,760 Speaker 1: Pace Analytical not only found levels of arsenic nearly eighteen 83 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: times higher than the North Carolina standard for drinking water 84 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: supply and fish consumption, but it also found elevated levels 85 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:36,679 Speaker 1: of lead and other heavy metals in the water. Williams said, 86 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:39,559 Speaker 1: are we going to see twenty years from now heavy 87 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: metals in shellfish? Who knows? Probably, We just can't say 88 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: right away. We can definitely say that concentrated heavy metals 89 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: are not good in the environment, and this is not 90 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 1: a problem limited to the southeast. According to the e 91 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: p A kalash disposal occurs at over a thousand sites 92 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,680 Speaker 1: around the US, and those are just the active sites. 93 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: As many as one thousand additional coal ash disposal sites 94 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: exist around the country. Some of the ashes stored in 95 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:10,880 Speaker 1: pits where it's mixed with water, which helps to keep 96 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: the dusty ash settled, and some mistored dry. Some of 97 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: these sites are covered and some of the pits are lined. 98 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,279 Speaker 1: Environmentalists note that even when the sites aren't flooded or 99 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: retaining walls aren't compromised, the minerals in the ash can 100 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: still seep into water tables and infect drinking water. Williams said, 101 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: we know everything's not okay. Just sweeping this under the 102 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: rug is not cutting it. What's going to fix this 103 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: is good ideas and admitting, yeah, this is a problem 104 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: and we've got to figure out a solution. Utilities, fearful 105 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,360 Speaker 1: of the huge costs associated with cleaning up these sites, 106 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: favor ceiling off the landfills and the ponds that hold 107 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,679 Speaker 1: coal ash. But that doesn't remove the problem. It only 108 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: kicks the can further down the road. The star expl 109 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,279 Speaker 1: and this isn't without a fix. The fix is to 110 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: excavate all of the coal ash. Once you remove all 111 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: the coal ash, the threat is removed. Excavating the coal ash, 112 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: putting it away from our water resources. And putting it 113 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: into aligned landfill. Your kitchen garbage has more strict restrictions 114 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: on it. That's what you have to do. The fix 115 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: is to remove it. A rule dictating stricter federal standards 116 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: for coal ash disposal passed in under the Obama administration 117 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: was eased in by the Trump administration, but a US 118 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,559 Speaker 1: Court of Appeals decision later not only threatens to gut 119 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: the Trump rollbacks, but calls on the e p A 120 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: to pass even tougher rules than called for during the 121 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: Obama era. Disposal of all the coal residue is going 122 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: to take years and years to pull off. All will 123 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: plants across the country continue to produce it. That means 124 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: coal ash will be a problem for everybody for the 125 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: foreseeable future. Today's episode is based on the article the 126 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: Deadly Problem of coal ash on how Stuffworks dot Com, 127 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: written by John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production of by 128 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com and 129 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,080 Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts to my 130 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 131 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.