Cassel has been working to protect communities from coal ash pollution for 15 years, and said climate change’s increased rainfall and hurricanes are increasing those dangers. And those who live near coal ash dumps, he said, continue to discover cancer at a rate that makes one think, “This can’t be normal.”
“EPA, you know the record,” Cassel said. “You made the record.”
Christina Zierold, a professor at the University of Mississippi, found that children exposed to coal ash were more likely to be depressed and had worse school performance than children who were not exposed.
Zierold said he has been researching the effects of coal ash on children’s health since 2011 and was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant in 2015 to study coal ash and neurobiological health in children ages 6 to 14.
He and his research team used air pollution and dust samples in children’s homes to collect coal ash and tested the children for neurobehavioral and mental health status in a variety of ways.
If a child does poorly in school, it can have a cascading effect into adulthood, Zierold said. He said depression in children can lead to poor social interaction, lack of learning and, in some cases, suicide.
“Do you want your children to play with coal ash in parks and playgrounds?” Zierold asked. “You want them to breathe and swallow? I don’t.”
Brianna Knisley, director of public power campaigns for Appalachian Voices, said the 2008 Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill was one of the worst industrial disasters in U.S. history. This is an example of what happens when the EPA leaves coal ash management to state regulators and utilities, he said.
The 900 workers cleaning up the spill were stripped of their protective gear and told the coal ash they were trying to remove was clean enough to eat. Knisley said hundreds of workers have been sickened and dozens have died.
Aerial view of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Cumberland Fossil Plant in Cumberland City, Tenn.
Appalachian Voices organizer Angie Mummaw, who lives near the Cumberland Fossil Plant in Tennessee, said she’s tired of communities like hers being treated as victim zones when the coal industry wants permanent vents instead of cleaning up the mess they’ve made.
Knisley has worked with communities where coal ash was used to fill children’s ball fields, and saw the tailings of toxic ash piles piled up by the Tennessee Valley Authority behind a public playground exposed to the wind. The Tennessee Valley Authority did not immediately respond to questions from Inside Climate News.
“This is coal ash management without strong federal regulation and protection,” Knisley said. “States and utilities have no intention of keeping communities safe.”
This article originally appeared there Domestic Climate Newsis a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization covering climate, energy, and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here.
