The Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill was 3 times worse than Exxon Valdez. Photo by United Mountain Defense and Lane Bolden used with permission.
A 2007 report by the EPA on the dangers of living near coal ash ponds was kept secret until March 2009 when the Obama administration ordered it released. Some of the coal ash ponds in the report may no longer be active. In the release, Kentucky has six sites on the listed, one in McCracken County
“The ash contains high levels of arsenic, lead, mercury and boron, each of which has been known to cause cancer, neurological and development problems, and other illnesses. Yet for three decades, rules governing coal ash have been left up to the states, creating a patchwork of differing regulations with questionable effectiveness… "
