DES MOINES, Iowa — Analysis from the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University, released today by Sierra Club and the Iowa Environmental Council, highlights how elevated levels of toxins from MidAmerican Energy’s coal ash waste pose significant health threats to Iowans. This analysis comes at a time when energy companies across the country are trying to roll back coal ash regulation and harmful health impacts from coal ash waste are being discovered.
Kim Petty, Sierra Club, kim.petty@sierraclub.org
Bethany Kohoutek, Iowa Environmental Council, kohoutek@iaenvironment.org
DES MOINES, Iowa — Analysis from the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic at Washington University, released today by Sierra Club and the Iowa Environmental Council, highlights how elevated levels of toxins from MidAmerican Energy’s coal ash waste pose significant health threats to Iowans. This analysis comes at a time when energy companies across the country are trying to roll back coal ash regulation and harmful health impacts from coal ash waste are being discovered.
The new analysis from the Clinic, in collaboration with Sierra Club, provides details on groundwater contamination from coal ash waste around five coal plants MidAmerican owns and operates in Iowa. The groundwater monitoring data summarized in the analysis was conducted and self-reported by MidAmerican under federal rules.
MidAmerican has disposed of coal ash waste in at least nine coal ash ponds (wet ash storage) and six landfills (dry ash storage), totaling more than 700 acres in size and up to 135 feet deep. Coal ash waste, the byproduct of burning coal to generate electricity, is a hazardous substance that can leak into nearby groundwater and put human health at risk. This waste contains harmful pollutants like mercury, arsenic, lead, and other toxic metals that can lead to cancer, various diseases, and both physical and neurological harm.
“If coal was a food, the FDA would have banned it years ago. There is no conflicting research, no unclear science: Coal is poisonous, yet it ends up in our groundwater which means it ends up in the water we drink and the food we eat,” said Emma Colman, Senior Campaign Organizer at Sierra Club. “Governor Reynolds outlined the importance of energy and public health in her priorities for the year, and having the Iowa DNR mitigate and manage MidAmerican’s coal ash waste would be crucial to protecting the health of Iowans.”
The groundwater data collected by MidAmerican over the last several years around its coal ash ponds and landfills show significantly elevated levels of toxic heavy metals and pollutants, including arsenic, radium, and lithium. In some instances, storage sites were unlined, enabling these toxins to seep into nearby water sources. While MidAmerican no longer deposits waste in some ash ponds, the contamination remains indefinitely and continues to pose risks to human health and the environment.
“The Iowa Environmental Council is extremely concerned about the evidence showing widespread contamination of groundwater at MidAmerican's coal ash facilities,” said Kerri Johanssen, Senior Director of Policy and Programs at the Iowa Environmental Council. “The company must take responsibility, clean up this toxic pollution, and announce a plan to move away from coal to energy sources that do not endanger Iowans and our precious water resources.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org .
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