Coal ash pit. Coal ash pits often reside adjacent to the power plants that produces their toxic contents. Toxic pollutants commonly found in coal ash include heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, selenium, chromium, and lead, which are hazardous to human health, wildlife, and waterways. Oct 17, 2024 · Denver’s coal ash pits were cleared 6 years ago, but the fight isn’t over yet Xcel Energy settles with EPA, restores “canary” to the Cherokee Generating Station coal pit. Ash pond Columbia Energy Center in Wisconsin with a coal ash pond landfill An ash pond, also called a coal ash basin or surface impoundment, [1] is an engineered structure used at coal-fired power stations for the disposal of two types of coal combustion products: bottom ash and fly ash. Aug 11, 2021 · An aerial view of a coal ash pit cleanup site. Cleaning up coal ash pollution What is coal ash? Nearly every major river in the South has one or more unlined, leaking pits filled with coal ash from power plants on its banks and sitting in groundwater. Nov 3, 2022 · 746 coal ash units in 43 states and Puerto Rico have reported information in compliance with federal coal ash safeguards since 2015. Sep 15, 2025 · Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio are among the states with the most coal ash sites, many located within two miles of a Great Lake. May 1, 2024 · EPA finally takes on abandoned coal ash ponds — but it might be too late Will utilities clean up toxic waste at power plants, or run out an election-year clock? Aug 23, 2024 · Hundreds of coal ash pits and ponds sit near the banks of American waterways, threatening toxic spills that can cause long-term damage to the environment and public health. Coal ash is the toxic byproduct of coal-burning power plants. Power plants typically mix the ash with water and dump it in massive “ponds” or pits nearby. Savannah River Site / Flickr / CC BY 2. Apr 7, 2025 · The coal ash pits at the former Beckjord coal plant site along the Ohio River on April 7, 2025, during flooding. 91% of power plants with coal ash pits are contaminating groundwater with toxic substances at levels exceeding safe standards, according to the plants’ own monitoring data. . Coal Ash Pits Hundreds of coal ash pits sit near the banks of American waterways, threatening toxic spills that can cause long-term damage to the environment and public health. Because vast quantities of water are consumed in coal power generation, these power plants lie beside large sources of water, including our Great Lakes, aquifers, and many of our most important and iconic rivers. Here’s what the data said. 0 Coal ash is stored near power plants, both in open-air landfills (“ash pits”) and ponds of water or Aug 23, 2024 · Hundreds of coal ash pits and ponds sit near the banks of American waterways, threatening toxic spills that can cause long-term damage to the environment and public health. aejjai0 uc5 jedll zz0x wyrixsl lov4u 1mk8 13kv 6yzw5 c3cu4