PINES
People In Need of Environmental Safety
Coal Combustion Waste (CCW) and Landfill
Issues
"Combustion wastes are the solid and liquid waste left over from burning coal and oil to make electricity - ash, sludge, boiler slag, mixed together with a dozen or so smaller volume wastes. Every year, over 100 million tons of these wastes are produced at nearly 600 coal and oil-fired power plants. Seventy-six million tons are primarily disposed of at the power plant site in unlined and unmonitored wastewater lagoons, landfills and mines. These disposal units are operating under state rules that frequently are far less protective than rules for household trash."
"No assurance was found in the technical literature that coal ash bottom wastes will not contaminate soil and water if they are used in transportation systems designed to drain water from the road through the wastes to the surrounding land. In fact, there is persuasive evidence that certain coal bottom ash waste constituents leach readily in the presence of water. ... Without environmental liability protection from those who propose coal bottom ash waste utilization, Mn/DOT is open to unlimited liability under CERCLA and other applicable environmental statutes."
"In 1980, fly ash, along with other coal combustion wastes, was exempted from regulation as hazardous waste in an amendment to the federal laws governing industrial waste, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), known as the Bevill Amendment. The Bevill Amendment, named after its house sponsor, Tom Bevill, also exempted other large-volume wastes which industry argued would be too costly to be landfilled according to strict regulations."
US EPA Risk Assesment of CCW Landfills - ( 2.4 Meg PDF )
"Arrival times for the peak arsenic concentration used to calculate risks are plotted as cumulative distributions for surface impoundments and landfills ... the peak arrival time for surface impoundments is usually less than 100 years, the 50th percentile is 78 years, and the 75th percentile is 105 years. Arrival times for landfills are much longer, ranging from hundreds to thousands of years; the 50th percentile is 618 years and the 75th percentile is 3,343 years. The shorter arrival times for surface impoundments are primarily due to the hydraulic head of the waste liquids in the unit and the lower prevalence of liners in surface impoundments; by contrast, landfill leaching is driven by infiltration of precipitation through the cap and liner of the unit. The arrival time of the peak concentration corresponds to the arrival of the maximum risk."
Scottish
EPA Guidance on Monitoring Landfills - ( 4 Meg PDF )
"This report provides guidance on best practice for monitoring of landfill leachate, groundwater and surface water at licensed/permitted landfill sites. It is provided as guidance for SEPA staff, landfill operators and practitioners. The principles in this document will also be of value to new landfill developments that require monitoring as part of an environmental assessment for planning purposes. Some of the principles will have relevance for monitoring of landfill sites which are closed and unlicensed."
Microscopy Photographs of Soil Samples
More on Coal Combustion Waste and Landfills
Documents Prior to Discovery by Residents
Documents from the Remedial Investigation
