By Rose Krzton-Presson
Murray, KY – A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, and the Sierra Club identifies McCracken County's Shawnee Fossil Plant as one of 39 new coal-ash dump sites in 21 states. These sites are reported to release arsenic and other heavy metals that contaminate local waters. The report states Shawnee Fossil Plant has been the source for contamination of shallow groundwater feeding the Ohio River since at least the 1980s. Sierra Club representative Lyndsay Moseley comments on an EPA study on chemicals commonly found in coal ash ponds.
"The risk assessment that EPA did said that people living within a one mile radius of an unlined coal ash pond can have an extremely high risk of cancer- that's a one in 50 risk of cancer."
The Environmental Integrity Report comes days before the EPA begins a series of regional hearings on the regulation of toxic coal ash waste. The hearings will be held in seven major U.S. cities, concluding in Louisville on September 28th.