Clean Coal Technology Leads to Water Pollution
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...By Kim
Published: October 13, 2009
There is a new push for “clean coal” energy which many have already claimed was an oxymoron which has now been proven to be just as dangerous by researches. In a past case in Pennsylvania where Alleghany Energy was sued by both New York State and New Jersey claiming air pollution was causing respiratory diseases. As a result, the power plant added scrubbers to its chimneys which in turn would wash the pollutants out of the chimney are preventing it from entering the air. The theory sounded good but the true effect was thousands of gallons of polluted water that would soon make its ways into the water tables of local residents and into the Monongahela River, which flows into Pittsburgh, 40 miles to the north. Plants in Pennsylvania claim the water is not toxic as they have installed filters to further clean the water, but this still leaves many worried about the ultimate effectiveness of scrubbers on coal plants.
The Environmental Protection Agency projects that by next year 50% of energy in the US will come from coal power plants using these scrubbers or similar technology and fear about the implications of this. There currently are no regulations on the disposal of the waste produced by these scrubbers into waterways or landfills. Some claim that it would fall under the “Clean Air Act” but many argue that this act does not include some of the most toxic elements of this waste like arsenic and lead.
Lisa Jackson, head of the EPA began implementing new guidelines last month regarding the release of greenhouse gases by power plants, but said it will take until the end of the year to determine what byproducts of coal energy plants should be considered “hazardous”. May states are fighting greater regulations standing behind their power companies, and lobbyists have made it impossible to pass such rules in the past gaining support against these regulations. Only time will tell who wins in that battle. Ultimately, it will be us the consumer to truly ‘pay’ for their need to either upgrade their water treatment plants or increased disposal actions, but what else is new. The consumer seems to always pay the price for corporations.
