recycling and reusing coal ash
Post on 15-Aug-2015
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DAN RIVER, VIRGINIA
• In February 2014, more than 80,000 tons of
coal ash spilled into the Dan River in Virginia.
• The amount of coal ash that poured into the
Dan River was equal to the weight of the
Washington Monument aboveground.
YEARLY PRODUCTION
• Every year, the more than 500 coal-fired power
plants in the U.S. produce 140 million tons
of coal ash.
• Millions of tons of coal ash are stored in ponds,
landfills and abandoned mines.
• Most of these disposal sites lack the safeguards
necessary to keep the waste from leaking out.
HEALTH RISKS
• At least 535 coal ash ponds operate without a
simple liner to prevent toxic chemicals and
heavy metals from leaching into the ground and
nearby water sources.
• People who live within one mile of unlined coal
ash storage ponds can have a one in 50 risk of
cancer.
• Living near a wet coal ash storage pond is more
dangerous to a person’s health than smoking a
pack of cigarettes a day.
COAL ASH CAN BE RECYCLED
43% of Coal Ash is Recycled in Construction Materials
More than 70 million tons of ash is dumped into pits and landfills
THE RCRA
• Up until the end of 2014, coal ash fell under the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
of 1976 but was classified as “exempt waste.”
• This left states to decide what to do with the
millions of tons of coal ash generated
each year.
VULCAN® SYSTEMS CAN SUPPLY THERMAL DESORPTION UNITS...
…IN ORDER TO REMOVE CONTAMINATES LIKE MERCURY.
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