Tulsa World: Fly-ash dump worries residents

MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | WIRELESS

Home > News > Article

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Fly-ash dump worries residents
A group will meet today in Bokoshe to discuss their health and environmental concerns.

Trucks carrying coal fly ash dump their loads near AES' Shady Point coal generation plant in Panama in January. Residents of nearby Bokoshe are concerned about the fly-ash disposal site in their backyard. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World file

By SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer
Published: 3/28/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 3/28/2009 3:15 AM

BOKOSHE — Although AES Shady Point has abandoned a plan to build a second coal-fired power plant in nearby Panama, some Bokoshe residents are still concerned about the fly-ash disposal site in their backyard.

The recently formed Bokoshe Environmental Cause group — or "B.E. Cause" — will hold a town hall meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Bokoshe School Cafetorium and has already set several goals:

Encouraging residents to test their wells and springs for contamination.

Contacting legislators to demand federal designation of fly ash as hazardous waste and promoting legislation to regulate fly ash through the Environmental Protection Agency.

Promoting independent monitoring of fly-ash samples at the disposal site as opposed to the current self-regulation.

Advocating for cleaner energy sources.

Fly ash is a byproduct of burning coal. It contains heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and lead.

Fly ash from the AES Shady Point facility in Panama is delivered in trucks to a site a mile south of Bokoshe at the Thumbs Up Ranch.

The ash is dropped through a hopper and slurried with water into a former coal pit.

Large clouds of coal dust rise from the trucks when the ash is released.

Residents say the dust gets all over their vehicles, invades their homes and causes them breathing problems.

It hasn't been determined whether the fly-ash site can be connected directly to Bokoshe residents' health problems.

But experts do know what the potential risks are:

Lead exposure can result in learning disabilities and neurological problems.

Mercury can cause brain damage in unborn babies.

Arsenic can potentially damage the central nervous system.

Other potential risks are contamination of underground water sources and acid rain.

An Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality's sampling of fish flesh shows that 16 of 35 lakes surveyed had high mercury concentrations of more than 0.5 mg.

A final report expected in May will result in DEQ-issued fish consumption advisories on specific lakes as well as the probable source.

AES spokesman Lundy Kiger said that he, mining officials and representatives from the fly ash site met with Bokoshe residents recently to offer a few remedies: paving a mile stretch of dirt road leading up to the fly-ash disposal site and constructing a containment facility where the trucks dump the ash.

Kiger said AES has committed $16,000 to the paving project.

AES also bought six new trucks and several trailers that keep the dust contained during transport, he said.

Bokoshe resident Susan Holmes said the jury is out on whether these remedies will resolve their concerns entirely.

"We don't know if it's even feasible to make some kind of containment building that can actually contain the dust," she said.

Residents have worried about the dust for years, Holmes said.

When the proposed second plant was brought to their attention, the focus on the fly ash was intensified.

"We finally got up in arms about it," Holmes said.

Susan Hylton 581-8381
susan.hylton@tulsaworld.com By SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer

Newspaper View Print this story

Comment

RSS

Bookmark

Reader Comments

Show: Most Recent Comment First

Add your comment

7 comments have been made on this story so far. Tell us what you think below!

Reporting Comments

If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment ajohnb, Jenks (3/28/2009 6:42:27 AM) And we worry about this??? Fly ash is used to build roads in Oklahoma. Thats why the roads don't last.
	Report Comment Graychin, Eucha (3/28/2009 9:02:40 AM) ajohnb, if you don't worry about this, maybe you should. This is a lot like all the fuss about the Tar Creek / Pitcher area. How has that turned out? They used to use the contaminated chat from up there for road-building too. AES has no incentive to find out whether this fly ash is hazardous to people living nearby. Their incentive is actually to speak, see and hear no evil. I think they need some different incentives. Perhaps a State agency could provide it.
	Report Comment Travis, Tahlequah (3/28/2009 11:11:40 AM) The state should, if it does not already do so, require that 20 - 25% fly ash be added to concrete for any state contract. It increases the durability and reduces the cost of the concrete while helping the environment by utilizing what would otherwise simply be a waste by product. California already does this so it is nothing new.
	Report Comment alliknowis, Tulsa (3/28/2009 4:03:57 PM) What Bokoshe residents' health problems? The story refered to them but they were never mentioned or defined. Do they even have health problems? Fly Ash has been used for centuries mixed with cement to lighten and strengthen the cement mix. It's holding the aquaducts in Italy together. As for fish contamination, were the lakes local? what was the mercury concentration 0.5mg per what? For the entire fish, per liter of water, per gram of fish? What are the levels of heavy metal contaminates in this fly ash, and for fly ash in general? Poorly written story. Sounds like they are trying to create a red herring.
	Report Comment .Missy..M, ` (3/29/2009 2:20:14 AM) Ya know you L.Hayes need to sit back and suck up some ash and fly somewhere else where you might can rag somewhere else.Panama my buttocks.
	Report Comment SuzannKaye, Bokoshe (3/29/2009 4:48:37 AM) Answering some of the questions. In Bokoshe we seem to have a higher than average number of people with cancer, respiratory, and heart problems. Do we know if it is caused by the fly ash - no but right now we have more questions than answers. We are asking until we get answers. As for the lakes one I was told is Wister is one not sure about the rest. Mercury accumulates and does not stay in just one part of a fish if one bite is 0.5mg then every bite you take is the same. We have a website called intheairwebreathe. (it won't let me post the full site) Go to the site watch the video of them dumping fly ash, read what is in fly ash and the health effects of it. My questions to those reading the article - Would you want something like this next door to your house, your town and you or your children breathing the dust or playing in the soil?
	Report Comment Meowlicious, (3/29/2009 3:17:37 PM) This is a terrible story that really minimizes what is going on in Bokoshe. If you would like a better picture I suggest you read Bridget Wood's article in the March issue of The Current or go to their website wwcurrentlandcom and read it for yourself. You can also go to youtube and look at the coalfighter channel and see several interviews of Bokoshe residents.

Add Your Comment
In order to post a comment on this article, you must sign in to Tulsaworld.com. If you do not have a site account, you can create an account for free.