America's Dirty Secret: Coal Ash

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  • Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
  • Find more Earth Focus content at www.linktv.org...
    (Earth Focus: Episode 64) People in three adjacent Pennsylvania communities suffer from a rare blood cancer. In Juliette, Georgia, where radioactive water flows from the tap, people are also getting sick. What else do these communities have in common? Coal ash. Some 130 million tons of it is generated in the US each year. It contains toxins like lead, arsenic and mercury and it gets into ground water from unlined pond and pit storage sites. The federal government says it's non-hazardous and regulation is left to state governments where the coal industry has great influence. And it's always people who suffer the consequences.
    Read Earth Focus correspondent Miles Benson's blog post, "Coal Ash: Both Beneficial and Poisonous?": www.linktv.org...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 175

  • @zapfanzapfan
    @zapfanzapfan 6 років тому +27

    Why not dump the ash back where it was mined? You have to return the train cars anyway to get more coal, why not just take the ash back with you?

    • @waltergwinn9189
      @waltergwinn9189 5 років тому +7

      Im pretty sure tim he is saying if we mined it out of a hole and it wasnt poisoning us then why not use the same hole to store it back in... Seems to me thats what they are trying to say

    • @dragmit
      @dragmit 5 років тому +4

      @@waltergwinn9189 Except the chemical characteristics have completely changed. If they stacked the coal unburned outside the run off would not be anywhere near as bad as after it is burned. Plus remember most of this stuff is strip mined today. That is not a sage hole to store in.

    • @TicklerDude
      @TicklerDude 4 роки тому +5

      Send all of the coal ash to the shithole countries in Africa......problem solved.

    • @rajasingammuthusamy959
      @rajasingammuthusamy959 3 роки тому

      @@dragmit Coal mining approval includes a provision for refill or backfill. The company takes a short cut and cut cost.

    • @rajasingammuthusamy959
      @rajasingammuthusamy959 3 роки тому

      @Ian Concannon flyash is as good as cement

  • @applesucks2633
    @applesucks2633 4 роки тому +6

    I plan on burning as much fossil fuel as I possibly can before I die

  • @survivor648
    @survivor648 8 днів тому

    The Last Mountain about blowing up the Appalachian mountains is a really good look into what coal mining does it’s so sad.

  • @swiftlyvexing6669
    @swiftlyvexing6669 5 років тому +1

    I grew up with a coal Ash pit maybe 200 meters behind my house. I think they were a lot more responsible about it though. They had test wells and water treatment facility. When they closed it up they rolled out thick plastic and buried about 5 meters dirt on top. No cancer yet though!

  • @frankanddanasnyder3272
    @frankanddanasnyder3272 4 роки тому +3

    Moving to a location next to a major coal power plant is stupid!

    • @jacquesblaque7728
      @jacquesblaque7728 4 роки тому

      No need to be next to it, downwind or downstream will do "nicely". Cheers!

  • @fredwilliamson2225
    @fredwilliamson2225 Рік тому +1

    The ash would make a great border wall since solar panels don't.

  • @billcoley8520
    @billcoley8520 4 роки тому +2

    If you people can find a way. You’ll make coal the blame

  • @hasijo45
    @hasijo45 4 роки тому +1

    This is not something that needs a study, it's all there right in your face.

  • @Idrinklight44
    @Idrinklight44 2 місяці тому

    The toxic crap will destroy humanity before the weather.....

  • @kittybanana9389
    @kittybanana9389 4 роки тому +2

    Im from BC Canada and BC doesn't burn coal and has a burning coal ban. BC is all renewable electricity

    • @johnk2452
      @johnk2452 4 роки тому +1

      KB, sorry to read that. It sounds like another one of the MANY PLACES on the globe that has NOT been informed of the full story. Well no surprise, there: that's the way flim-flam men operate; everything is sunny and rosy ... until it is NOT. Be informed: pound-for-pound --- IN THE LONGER RUN --- renewables --- hydro, solar, wind, etc --- will result in GREATER VOLUMES of toxic waste than any of other the higher-density energy sources:
      Increased hydro dams will result in many more choked rivers and streams, loss of fish species, habitat, forests and etc.
      1000s upon 1000s of worn-out toxic-material wind turbines --- they have an average life-span of fewer than 20 years --- are already beginning to overwhelm such legal disposal facilities.
      Millions upon millions of tons of expired batteries, especially from electric cars, will need to be disposed of, where, even now, for example, in several European locations, car owners are finding it extremely difficult and EXPENSIVE to secure legal disposal locations ... because such batteries are so toxic.
      Not much solar up there in BC; but, if there was, can you imagine the 1000s of square miles of forests that would need to be destroyed in order to make sufficient space for solar panels?
      And, the preceding does not even mention the massive number of additional open-pit mines needed to produce the metals --- especially rare earth metals --- needed just to manufacture all the new electric cars and etc ... are hardly even discussed, and, on a national level, for all practical purposes, are not discussed at all
      Note that regarding such metals: the great majority of these mines are in 3rd world countries where SLAVE LABOR is used for mining and processing.
      The reason for the above is ENERGY DENSITY; actually, the LACK thereof; where, renewables, compared to coal, nuclear, petroleum, can NOT compete. Renewables are NOT relatively energy-dense.
      IOW: regarding the TOXIC IMPACT of renewables: YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING, YET! Hope that you all enjoy it!

    • @pauldeahl3980
      @pauldeahl3980 3 роки тому

      Cuyana2020 Ivan - I could not have said it better myself. All these uninformed people in the comments section screaming to sue the coal companies into bankruptcy are so easily misled. If they simply did a little research with an open mind they will quickly realize that they are being lied to.

  • @SimonKingMusic
    @SimonKingMusic 6 років тому +7

    See the video about Tinker Airforce Base

  • @spleenforsoul
    @spleenforsoul Рік тому

    When I was a kid we took a school field trip to the local power plant. It ran on coal. I remember they told us not to even touch the stair railings because it was all covered in coal dust. I was out of school for a week after that field trip, I was so sick. I remember not realizing why until I got older. We were given no masks, only hard hats. People who lived around the plant got free car washes because of their cars being covered in coal dust.

  • @jimdorman1550
    @jimdorman1550 5 років тому +3

    What do these people think happens to their trash, in a landfill?

    • @jacquesblaque7728
      @jacquesblaque7728 4 роки тому

      Do you understand that most landfills are lined, and do not receive anything like the input of heavy metals that are found in coal ash? Yeah, thinking is hard work, per "W"

  • @andypaniagua1430
    @andypaniagua1430 Рік тому

    At 2:35 My brothers, sister and I are walking across the street and i find that insane.

  • @BernardBouchard-qq9kq
    @BernardBouchard-qq9kq 7 днів тому

    I live at ground zero of coal largest mine in the word power plants home heat coke ovens put ash on roads red dog driveway slag for construction red water creeks .so we should be the test standard.

  • @ggem8125
    @ggem8125 5 років тому +3

    Let’s go back to living in caves to save the earth. I want to go to the homes of the people in this video and remove the central air conditioner

    • @mtadams2009
      @mtadams2009 3 роки тому +1

      That was not the point of the video. We can do better and we are, we can do more. It does take a commitment to improving our world. Coal now produces less than 30 percent of our power, so we are moving forward. Lets be honest we also waste a lot of power. I use very little power, no AC its really not a big deal . We have grown soft.

  • @heresteven
    @heresteven 5 років тому

    One coal plant buried its flyash on its site under a concrete slab and hid it from the EPA. It is still in business today.

  • @ryanehlis426
    @ryanehlis426 5 років тому +2

    Uranium is not from coal.

    • @Jemalacane0
      @Jemalacane0 4 роки тому +2

      Wrong! Coal does contain radioactive metals, one of them being uranium.

  • @kgooch69
    @kgooch69 5 років тому +3

    I live in the area of Pa they speak of. I use coal to heat my home and I love it. Both my grandfather's were coal miners. In truth most power plants are switching to natural gas anyway.. you don't need the government sticking it's nose in to make it happen. I predict over the next 20 years or so coal plants will be far and few. My opinion is I don't think it's nearly as toxic as being depicted here. Dirty and dusty ?..yah sure..but I'm not sure you want to breath any dust..so what's the solution ?.. People will always be quick to tell you what they think is wrong or bad..but offer no reasonable and dare I say.. affordable solution. Hate on me if you want..but it's nice and warm in my house and I intend to keep it that way.

    • @earlofcheeseburger
      @earlofcheeseburger Рік тому

      wonder if you'll say the same thing as the cancer eats away at your bones

  • @fordnut460
    @fordnut460 5 років тому +1

    Id still say we have come leaps and bounds in the coal burning business. When my dad was a kid the air in Pennsylvania was that heavy with it . The snow was black

  • @benavraham4397
    @benavraham4397 4 роки тому +1

    What's happening with coal ash for the last 250 years? It not at all new.

  • @lucusinfabula
    @lucusinfabula 7 років тому +1

    Fern has large wet root nodules and high ash content frustules and would be better than pine at fixing volatiles.
    Not sure you can intercrop fern with pine but if you can't then a matter of planting oak or whatever else.

  • @richardbernier177
    @richardbernier177 6 років тому +4

    Excellent video! Great info!

  • @ericdebord
    @ericdebord 6 років тому +5

    all these chemicals are allready in the coal in the ground.

    • @stovillaelohimra4099
      @stovillaelohimra4099 6 років тому +2

      It's the metals being burnt with the coal that are the problem. Not very bright are ya? Even watch the damn video man?

  • @ryanehlis426
    @ryanehlis426 5 років тому +7

    Coal ash is a valuable byproduct that we need! Building and industrial products are produced from coal ash.

  • @timdoerksen9893
    @timdoerksen9893 11 місяців тому

    Apple cider vinegar & lemon juice will really help fix your liver.

  • @candybanks8717
    @candybanks8717 4 роки тому +2

    Cement that is used in the oilfield to line well bores to protect ground water is mostly fly ash from coal plants. Once it is mixed and hardens it isn't hazadeous. It's also used to make concrete so all construction is dependent as well. Don't see why they couldn't have Halliburton or Schlumberger bring in the cement pumps and put a cap on these giant mounds, which should be located on a flat or con-caved plateau with a layer of bedrock between the pit and water table. The cement could be mixed with seawater instead of fresh water which would actually set much faster as salt decreases set time. This could put thousands of geologists, miners and oilfield workers back to work and help clean up the industry that everyone who enjoys civilization owes their quality of life to. Just a thought...

  • @daleneparole1502
    @daleneparole1502 Рік тому

    "You act like you don't know...As the CANCER slowly grows..."

  • @64diveman
    @64diveman 9 років тому +4

    why nobody American people talk about it?

    • @jacquesblaque7728
      @jacquesblaque7728 4 роки тому

      Would you believe it's not just in the USA? How 'bout UK, Germany (with all their lignite), China, etc, etc.?

  • @abelincolnparth
    @abelincolnparth 6 років тому +3

    With all these natural disasters we need a "concrete block" reserve, just like we have a strategic oil reserve. We need to up the encasement of these heavy metal ash products into concrete blocks and have them stored to help us recover from any disaster. Encasement with high pH products like lime will keep our water resources safe.

  • @hasijo45
    @hasijo45 4 роки тому

    We all know that money runs this country, not the politicians.

  • @lunnwhelan946
    @lunnwhelan946 7 років тому

    I think the power company just turns off electric filter or doesn't has them at all. Coal power plant also must have wet ash catcher and dry ash catcher.

  • @johnoleary7519
    @johnoleary7519 7 років тому +6

    If its like this in America think what it is like in China or India. We know how to run cars on water why not power plants. Good reporting.

    • @s.sradon9782
      @s.sradon9782 7 років тому +2

      well it takes power to make hydrogen

    • @PopsShack
      @PopsShack 7 років тому +1

      That power needn't come from burning coal.

    • @tyrred
      @tyrred 5 років тому

      Our most abundant power source is the sun. Where did all the coal come from? And where did all the plants that made that coal derive their energy from? How is it that people are still so trapped in their paradigms that they cannot understand that there is a gigantic nuclear fusion power station up above?

    • @daveestes942
      @daveestes942 5 років тому

      takes a lot of electric power to make hydrogen so where does the power come from to make the hydrogen to run the electric plants with hydrogen you don't make any sense at all and need to stop watching youtube videos of those phonies claiming to run their cars on hydrogen or Browns gas

  • @COIcultist
    @COIcultist 6 років тому +3

    From around 03.00: "Each year it produces three and a half million kilowatts of electricity."
    Where does one start with this?
    3.5 million kilowatts. OK that should be 3.5 GW (Gigawatts) but I understand not everyone comprehends engineering notation (like scientific notation but at every 10 to the power 3 or times 1,000 we give a new prefix.) and people can relate to a 1kW (kilowatt) appliance.
    "Each year it produces" The Watt (kilowatt, Gigawatts, etc) is not a unit of production (work done) it's a unit of power. 1Watt= 1Joule per second. OK what might they have meant? The most common measurement of electrical work done is the kWh (kilowatt hour) 1kW for 1hour.
    At full capacity (coal fired power stations run best at full capacity) each of the 4 units at Plant Scherer run at 880MW (Megawatts= 1,000xkW1,000,000Watts) or in total 3,520MW. So one could sort of see where the "three and a half" figure came from but it would then produce the stated "three and a half million kilowatt(s) (hours) in 1 hour not 1year. Except of course it wouldn't. The plant can't constantly run to capacity it has a capacity factor of about 61%. Each year it produces about 19TWh (Terawatt-hours) or 19,000 million kilowatt-hours.
    If you lack such a basic understanding of physics or at this level just basic science or even the ability to do maths, what does it say for (or do to) the credibility of the rest your film?
    See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_power_stations_in_the_United_States

    • @jacquesblaque7728
      @jacquesblaque7728 4 роки тому

      KISS. Just make clear the distinction between power and energy/work. Avoid the fluff. Energy for a given time internal is integral of power over that interval. Look at a "Kill-A-Watt" to investigate that sort of thing. Power-factor study, a bonus.

  • @Preyhawk81
    @Preyhawk81 3 роки тому

    why dont they extract the heavy metals for industrial use?

  • @martindawson8745
    @martindawson8745 5 років тому +1

    i live in maryland, i have familey. in. nc..stop the bullshit

  • @johnk2452
    @johnk2452 4 роки тому

    Name a SIGNIFICANT energy source that doesn't have a SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE IMPACT. [Please don't mention solar, wind and etc]. The answer is NONE. IOW: every significant energy source has such challenges. Renewables, if used on a national scale --- pound for pound --- will produce volumes of toxic waste, dwarfing those of other energy types; the reason being energy density. The only way to prevent such energy-sourced pollution is to prevent USE OF ALL ENERGY SOURCES.

  • @pertechnetyl
    @pertechnetyl 5 років тому +3

    There is no "iron pyrite" (proper name: pyrite) in the Acid Mine Drainage. AMD is a product of pyrite oxidation.

  • @barrybretz6073
    @barrybretz6073 3 роки тому

    Our gov needs to hire Robert Murry Smith to find a way to use it for batteries for electric vehicles!!!!!

  • @libertarian1536
    @libertarian1536 3 роки тому

    I don't see why they can't find a good use for this. Aggregate to make concrete?

  • @Honky_time
    @Honky_time 4 роки тому

    What is the follow up? Are they still operating like this? Now that Trump has smashed the EPA?

  • @daveestes942
    @daveestes942 5 років тому +2

    first off about this is that its up to the power companies to build the plants that can burn coal safely not up to the coal companies

  • @rewrewd5904
    @rewrewd5904 6 років тому +1

    This is bs fly ash is used in the making of concrete and it’s expensive here in sc they used to place it in the ponds shown in the pictures but now they are digging it up and reprocessing it to sell as a addictive to concrete

    • @guillaumegaudin694
      @guillaumegaudin694 6 років тому

      yeah that sounds as good as an idea as putting asbestos in concrete (yes that did happen)... Think future, think demolition, think dust... toxic dust.

    • @garycarman1920
      @garycarman1920 6 років тому +1

      @@guillaumegaudin694 they do use fly ash in concrete. trucks are moving by my house day and night they haul the fly ash from page to las vegas and bring lime back Barney trucking is the compony it isn't hurting any thing it's progress you don't like it move to a undeveloped country.

    • @guillaumegaudin694
      @guillaumegaudin694 6 років тому

      Think that some day, your children or your grand children may own a house where such concrete has been used, and they may not be aware that it's not regular concrete, so they would drill or cut through it for some reason and breathe the dust... I know that as long as the ash is trapped in the concrete it's no harm, but it won't be like this forever.
      In france we used asbestos without any state control until 1996, now it's everywhere and it's costing a lot of money to decontaminate when we want to do make overs. I just think that ash in concrete is a bad idea for the same reason using asbestos in construction material was a bad idea

    • @guillaumegaudin694
      @guillaumegaudin694 6 років тому

      after i'm no chemist and don't know for a fact what exactly is in the ash and how it would exactly be released in the case of demolition of this concrete, so prove me wrong if any research has been done, i'd love to see it documented. Just because it should be, information is number one.

    • @garycarman1920
      @garycarman1920 6 років тому

      if you breath saw dust from trees im talking about wood its bad if you breath dust from the ground its bad for you if you drink to much water its bad for you it can kill you if your exposed to too much radiation its bad for you by the way the sun produces that carcinogen radiation every thing is bad in high doses there is much more I want to say explain but my old lady is after me at the moment

  • @bigmike690smc
    @bigmike690smc 6 років тому +8

    Luckily al gore is here to save you all... :)

    • @tyrred
      @tyrred 5 років тому +3

      Luckily you are part of the most irritating group of 'Muricans, and you love being a scourge to your grandchildren. You will be dead, but they will live with your legacy.... But not as long as they should.
      But please, do go on. Ride that hog of yours. It's loud and irritating and reminds everyone else why you are and should be despised.

    • @daveestes942
      @daveestes942 5 років тому +2

      and get filthy rich in the meantime from all this hoopla thousands of scientist are now claiming its a hoax for profit

    • @TicklerDude
      @TicklerDude 4 роки тому +1

      Manbearpig

  • @Jemalacane0
    @Jemalacane0 6 років тому

    Matter doesn't disappear in a chemical reaction, but...

  • @tshegomokonoto
    @tshegomokonoto 6 років тому

    Money talks in the end, sue them.

  • @terryakuna66
    @terryakuna66 5 років тому

    Trust nobody! Politics and payoffs! Money rules the world ..... don't think it don't!

  • @ryanehlis426
    @ryanehlis426 5 років тому +1

    Chemtrails are making people sick! What the hell are the spraying from the airplanes?

  • @DeBe4604
    @DeBe4604 5 років тому

    Here in Florida , there's ALWAYS black stuff all over. I have to wipe and wipe my porch. We wonder what it
    is.
    When I moved in here yrs ago the man next door told me there was black stuff all.over. He didn't know what it was.
    24 yrs later its still..here.
    I've heard some say . the airport, ? Tropicana Orange factory? This is in Gulf coast Fl.

  • @patrickestonilo8241
    @patrickestonilo8241 Рік тому

    Business as usual.

  • @dwrldgster3151
    @dwrldgster3151 7 років тому +1

    acid lol

  • @dr.shakingmyhead4167
    @dr.shakingmyhead4167 4 роки тому

    OMG THIS IS CRAZY
    WHAT HAVE THIS WORLD COME TOO

  • @s.sradon9782
    @s.sradon9782 7 років тому

    why can't you separate these metals from coal ash it seems somewhat profitable

    • @PopsShack
      @PopsShack 7 років тому +2

      Because the amounts are small enough that it's not financially viable.

    • @ashanmendis1930
      @ashanmendis1930 6 років тому

      why don't pigs fly

    • @kennyw871
      @kennyw871 6 років тому +1

      Yea, if you have kids in China and India to do it!

  • @falconeddy254
    @falconeddy254 7 років тому +10

    Trump says it won't hurt you as he Rams Cash in his pockets

    • @daveestes942
      @daveestes942 5 років тому +2

      the only President that wont even take a salary and he is cramming cash into his pockets get real and ask the doctor to change your meds

  • @ggem8125
    @ggem8125 5 років тому +1

    Like Obama said regulate them out of business

  • @kentmclellan9508
    @kentmclellan9508 6 років тому +2

    mix the coal ash with sand, use it on the roads in the winter time

    • @kennyw871
      @kennyw871 6 років тому +7

      Yea so the heavy metals can wash off the roads into streams and into the oceans. What's it going to be like when we can no longer harvest fish from streams and oceans, not to mention safe drinking water. I forgot, it's already like that now. Good job corporate America, you're really watching out for us, right? No worries though, scientists will find a way to activate our slime genes as we slither through life.

    • @crackcrazy8390
      @crackcrazy8390 3 роки тому

      Why

    • @crackcrazy8390
      @crackcrazy8390 3 роки тому

      Why

  • @okieguy51
    @okieguy51 5 років тому +3

    I love coal fired power plants burning American coal.

    • @Railfan9743
      @Railfan9743 4 роки тому

      michael malone what is wrong with you

  • @BetterDeadThanRed99
    @BetterDeadThanRed99 5 років тому

    Distillation removes even the radioactive contamination. Tips for life.

  • @martindawson8745
    @martindawson8745 5 років тому +1

    please .sue, these big corp;

    • @davefoc
      @davefoc 5 років тому

      The Trump EPA is going to jump right on that.

  • @tshegomokonoto
    @tshegomokonoto 6 років тому

    Nice... someone mentions fly ash. So why is there so much waste being dumped?

  • @barrybretz6073
    @barrybretz6073 3 роки тому

    Can any of it be used in tires?

  • @dwrldgster3151
    @dwrldgster3151 7 років тому +1

    move The world can't stop for you

  • @dawnnovak5789
    @dawnnovak5789 4 роки тому

    is this so with coal ash from a heating coal stove ?

    • @jacquesblaque7728
      @jacquesblaque7728 4 роки тому +1

      Being that all coal is formed from strata of the same or similar sediments, you should expect similarity. Why would it depend on where/how it was burned?

  • @James-gz6iq
    @James-gz6iq 4 роки тому

    With coal ash, we could build cheap safe concrete housing for homeless people. I hope those residents get RO water, or some water filtration system.

  • @michaelbest7872
    @michaelbest7872 6 років тому

    Coal ash! Asbestos, Nuclear waste - all harmful ! Now it's Sept. 2018 and a hurricane just went thru the Carolina's and one problem in the water is Coal Ash ! Then this documentary says coal ASH is burned for fuel !!! We as humans have much to learn, as we are STILL hurting each other, for ease and happiness in the short term, even in a non-purposeful way. Stubbornness, resistance to change, and selfishness are also problems.

  • @dwrldgster3151
    @dwrldgster3151 7 років тому +3

    they passed away because they were old

    • @tyrred
      @tyrred 5 років тому +1

      Sure, people only die of old age. Cool story, bro.

  • @pertechnetyl
    @pertechnetyl 5 років тому

    Arsenic is not a heavy metal. It is a semi-metal.

  • @ExposedRoot
    @ExposedRoot 4 роки тому

    I hate to be the one to start injecting this name but I bet most if not all the people living in these areas voted for Donald Trump. The easing and dismissal of president Obamas Regulation have been mind numbing.

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    @user-vn2ly2fg5w 2 місяці тому

    I have defeated PolyCythemia Vera. NO it is not easy, mainly due to people being stubborn and not able to conceive of remedy.. look. Just cuz ama failed you...we do not
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