Disposal of Coal Ash Metals in Ponds Rose 9 Percent in 2010, Report Says

Power plants disposed of 112.8 million pounds of toxic metals or metal compounds from coal ash into ponds in 2010, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year, according to an analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project.

The analysis released Jan. 5 found that pond disposal reached the highest level since 2007, the year before the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant spilled nearly 1 billion tons of coal ash sludge into the Clinch River and surrounding properties, although the totals have fluctuated in recent years.

Disposal of metals from coal ash declined from 109.5 million pounds in 2008 ...