The Sludge Threat

Coal ash retention ponds are so numerous and so toxic that they are now considered to be a potential threat to national security.

1 minute read

June 17, 2009, 10:00 AM PDT

By Michael Dudley

Back in December of 2008, a coal ash pond in Tennessee burst its banks and flooded some 300 acres with an estimated billion gallons of toxic sludge. Now there are concerns that the nation's other 44 such sites also pose a grave threat to surrounding communities.

We all knew the problem was serious. Now it turns out that it's so bad that the public can't be informed where those sites are. According to the Huffington Post,

"the Department of Homeland Security has told Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) that her committee can't publicly disclose the location of coal ash dumps across the country.

The pollution is so toxic, so dangerous, that an enemy of the United States -- or a storm or some other disrupting event -- could easily cause them to spill out and lay waste to any area nearby."

FULL STORY: Coal Ash Spills Too Dangerous To Reveal To Public, Says DHS

Friday, June 12, 2009 in Huffington Post

Environment United States Toxic Waste Air Pollution

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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