Coal Ash Pollutes North Carolina Drinking Water, Kills Fish

North Carolina’s environmental wellness has taken a hit this month, with a new study revealing that coal ash in Sutton Lake outside Wilmington is killing nearly a million fish every year. According to the Wake Forest University researchers, the wellbeing of other Carolina fish is at stake, with thousands being deformed by the coal ash.

 

In a statement, the research team noted that they ‘found several species of fish showing disturbing mutations of the heads, mouths, spines, and tails,’ after analysing more than 1,400 fish from Sutton Lake. ‘Many fish die before reaching maturity,’ they lamented. ‘In addition, the study found the population of catchable bass has dropped by 50% since 2008, affecting the popular bass fishing economy at the lake.’ Lead researcher Dennis Lemly, a research associate professor of biology at Wake Forest University and a leading expert on selenium poisoning, pointed the finger at Duke Energy, the owner and operator of a power plant that houses four coal ash waste pits. On December 3^rd, four conservation groups called for immediate action from Duke Energy.

 

This isn’t only an environmental wellness concern, but one of financial health. Known for its public recreational fishing, commercial fishery, and as a source of food to subsistence fishers who live nearby, Sutton Lake may face major economic problems if the coal ash issue is not soon fixed. The four conservation groups –the Sierra Club, Southern Environmental Law Centre, the Waterkeeper Alliance and the Cape Fear River Watch – argued that the study’s findings underscore the urgency of solidifying regulations on coal ash, and Duke Energy needs to take immediate action. In the groups’ statement, Frank Holleman, senior attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Centre, commented, ‘Selenium pollution from Duke’s coal ash takes food off the table of North Carolinians who count on Sutton Lake to feed their families, and fish off fishermen’s lines.’

 

Earlier this month, Duke Energy Renewables Inc. – the parent company of Duke Energy –  pleaded guilty to killing eagles with its wind turbines in Wyoming. However, when it comes to coal ash, the battle is being fought nationwide. At the end of October 2013, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were given 60 days to set federal coal ash regulations in a lawsuit against the agency involving, among other parties, the Moapa Band of Paiutes. Still, while this deadline was given by a federal judge, it deals with emissions under the Clean Air Act – not water or ground pollution.

 

This isn’t the first time North Carolina’s drinking water has fallen prey to coal ash contamination. In 2012, a study undertaken by researchers at Duke University in Durham showed high levels of selenium in waters flowing to places like Mountain Island Lake, one of the main sources of drinking water for Charlotte. This was based on an analysis of more than 300 water samples from 11 lakes and rivers. At the time, Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, stated, ‘In several cases, we found contamination levels that far exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for safe drinking water and aquatic life.’

 

Professor Vengosh continued, ‘We are saving the sky by putting in more scrubbers to remove particulates from power plant emissions, but these contaminants don’t just disappear. As our study shows, they remain in high concentrations in the solid waste residue and wastewater the coal-fired power plants produce. Yet there are no systematic monitoring or regulations to reduce water-quality impacts from coal ash ponds because coal ash is not considered as hazardous waste.’ Kelly Martin, with the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, in the conservation groups’ December 3^rd statement, pointed out, ‘We know coal ash pollution harms people, wildlife, and our treasured natural places. Duke Energy needs to stop stalling and take responsibility for its ongoing violations.’

Categories: coal ash, conservation groups, drinking water, duke energy, environmental protection, North Carolina, Power Plant, Research, sutton lake, water pollution, water quality

Could Mangrove Forest Face Threats From Coal Plant?

Bangladesh makes a controversial decision to turn use coal to produce electricity, but this large coal-fired power plant is threatening the ecosystem of the Sundarbans, which is the world’s largest mangrove forest. In October, Bangladeshi and Indian officials were supposed to hold a ceremony which was to lay the foundations for the Rampal power plant, which is the new coal-fired project that will be situated on the edge of the Sundarbans. However, instead, the governments cancelled the ceremony entirely and announced that the project had already begun. While the governments say that the change was due to busy schedules, activists say the sudden scuttling of the ceremony was most likely due to rising pressures against the coal plant. One such bid was a five-day march in September which attracted the interest of an estimated 20,000 people. Opponents to the plant say that the 1320 megawatt project could completely destroy the Sundarbans, which is the nation’s stronghold of the Bengal tiger. They further contend that the water diversion to the plant, along with the air and water pollution and heavy coal barge traffic, could leave the Sundarbans an increasingly degraded ecosystem. Most of the impact on the plant and wildlife would be negative and irreversible.

 

 

The government claims that the plant will produce much needed power for Bangladesh, with around half of its 150 million people currently lack electricity. Officials state that Rampal will also cause minimal damage to the environment, with the Sundarbans their safeguard against natural disasters. Therefore no damage will occur to them. The construction of this plant is the beginning of an ambitious strategy by the government to increase the generation of electricity to 20,000 by 2021. This goal relies heavily on coal, with the Prime Minister proposing a dozen of new coal plants yet to come. Critics of this plant and the growing embrace of coal that the country has developed argue that the reckless strategy shows little thought to the environment. Few nations are as low-lying as Bangladesh and the Sundarbans is one of the most important protectors against rising sea levels and intense typhoons. Based on the projections of sea levels from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 17 per cent of Bangladesh could be swamped by sea waters, creating millions of climate refugees. With Bangladesh already being a global hotspot for cyclones and extreme tropical weather disasters, this only serves to heighten the risk and put millions of lives in danger.

 

 

Coal is a big business in India and there is no doubt as to the interests at play for the country. There is significant profit to be made for many companies if this plan goes ahead. Like the Rampal coal plant, the mangrove forest at risk is shared between Bangladesh and India. Around 80 per cent of the forest lies within Bangladesh, and the rest is in Bengal. This vast forest covers as much as 10,000 square kilometres and is a vital resource to locals who depend on its fisheries and natural produce, much as they have done for centuries. The Sundarbans play a vital role in the national economy and is the largest source of forest products in the country. It is home to around 210 species of fish, 49 mammals, 330 plants and 59 reptile species – all of these would be left endangered and homeless if the mangrove were to be damaged by the plant. As with many other global warming issues, this is something that requires far more thinking as to the damage it will cause not just to the environment but to Bangladeshi people.

Categories: coal, coal fired, coal plant, environment, Global Warming, mangrove forest, nbsp nbsp, plant, Power Plant, sea levels, sundarbans

Is the Japanese Government Putting Power Over Environment?

Experts have sounded the alarm over Japan’s environmental wellbeing this week, as the country is storing 200,000 tonnes of radioactive water in makeshift tanks that are vulnerable to leaks. This is according to the operator of Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear power plant, who said that there’s no reliable way to check on the tanks or anywhere to transfer the water.

 

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was inspected last week, with Japan’s nuclear watchdog members looking into the contaminated water tanks. This is the latest in a long list of environmental wellness concerns, following multiple recent accidents, leaks and breakdowns. These problems show just how vulnerable the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site is, even though it has been more than two years since the powerful earthquake and tsunami set off meltdowns at three reactors.

 

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised that his government would take a more active role in the site’s cleanup, and so this new announcement has raised questions about how seriously he has taken that pledge. The government is still pushing to restart the country’s nuclear power programme, and the Prime Minister headed out to the Middle East on Saturday to promote Japanese exports to the region, including nuclear technology.

 

However, opposition lawmakers have demanded that Mr. Abe stay home and declare a state of emergency. At an anti-nuclear rally outside Mr. Abe’s office in Tokyo, Yoshiko Kira of the opposition Japan Communist Party, which made significant gains in parliamentary elections last month, commented, ‘The nuclear crisis is real and ongoing, yet the government continues to look the other way. The government should declare a state of emergency right now, and intervene to stop the outflow of contaminated water.’

 

How the crisis at the Fukushima plant will affect Mr. Abe’s extensive popularity remains to be seen, but what is clear is that the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), may not be able to handle the increasingly problems at the plant. At the sprawling complex, Tepco has built almost 1,000 tanks in order to store as many as 335,000 tons of contaminated water. This water is the result of the coolant that the plant pumps into the reactors to keep the cores from overheating, as well as the groundwater that they pour into their breached basements at a rate of 400 tonnes a day.

 

Tepco has admitted that one tank has sprung a huge leak this week, which could spell disaster if the other tanks follow suit. The 36-foot-tall cylindrical tanks were constructed as a temporary repository for the growing amount of radiated water at the complex, but Tepco announced that the builders had used vulnerable rubber sealing and the tanks’ ability to withstand radiation was not tested. Noriyuki Imaizumi, the acting general manager of Tepco’s nuclear power division, stated that the leaked water can be carried to the sea by a nearby drain, and high radiation readings suggest that this has already occurred.

 

According to the Nuclear Regulation Authority, which the Japanese government has ordered to more actively advise and monitor Tepco’s activities at the plant, the company needs to transfer the water into more durable vessels. However, an authority commissioner, Toyoshi Fuketa, said that after seeing the plant on Friday, the possibility of doing this quickly is ‘unrealistic.’ Tepco acknowledged that the water beneath the reactors is extremely contaminated. If it gets into the ocean, it will exceed even the disaster’s earliest leaks. Michio Aoyama, a senior scientist in the Oceanography and Geochemistry Research Department at the government-affiliated Meteorological Research Institute, admitted, ‘That prospect scares me. It’s the ultimate, worst-case scenario.’

Categories: Contaminated Water, daiichi nuclear, fukushima daiichi, Japan, japanese government, nuclear, nuclear power, Power Plant, prime minister, water nbsp