Big Coals Effects on Your Families Air

130,000 people in the U.S. die every year from fine particulate matter from Coal burning power plants. How does it effect your families indoor air quality?

As a parent you need to be vigilant to ensure the health and well-being of your family. My current crusade, now that our oldest has started kindergarten, is to ensure the indoor air quality at her school is as healthy and safe as possible for her and her classmates.

As I was reading through some current environmental health research (so I could include salient information as I craft a letter to the principal of her school), I ran across a piece at NRDC Switchboard entitled EPA: Coal Ash Poses Significant Health Risk. Being the queen of the side-tracked, I began reading. Did you know the nation’s power plants spew out 130 million tons of coal combustion waste every year?

A recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigation reports:

The total amount of toxic pollutants currently being released in wastewater discharges from coal-fired power plants is estimated to be significant and raises concerns regarding the long-term impacts to aquatic organisms, wildlife, and human health that are exposed to these pollutants.
An increasing amount of evidence indicates that the characteristics of coal combustion wastewater have the potential to impact human health and the environment.
Many of the common pollutants found in coal combustion wastewater (e.g., selenium, mercury, and arsenic) are known to cause environmental harm and can potentially represent a human health risk.
Pollutants in coal combustion wastewater are of particular concern because they can occur in large quantities (i.e., total pounds) and at high concentrations (i.e., exceeding Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs)) in discharges and leachate to groundwater and surface waters.

The writers at Twilight Earth have endeavored to educate all of us on the evils of coal.

We’ve talked here about Archaic, Inefficient, Dirty and Deadly Coal=Boiled Water=Electricity.

We’ve discussed how Clean Coal Makes For Dirty Politics.

And illuminated Coal’s Health Costs In Appalachia Outweigh Economic Benefits.

Now I’m going to bring it all a little closer to home.

According to the EPA approximately 630,000 babies are born in the U.S. each year with dangerous levels of mercury in their blood. Studies have shown mercury exposure can lead to kidney damage, learning disabilities, attention deficits, behavior problems and lower intelligence.

How is the mercury contaminating our babies?

You probably already know where I’m going with this. According to the EPA, the biggest source is coal-fired power plants. The mercury is sent out into the air and discharged into groundwater and surface water (through wastewater).

Finding clean, healthy, renewable energy sources is important to all of us. Everyone wants clean indoor air and outdoor air for our children. Let your voice be heard.

You can make a difference right now. Send a message to the Obama administration to immediately halt the blasting on Coal River Mountain. Stop Massey Energy, the nation’s fourth-largest coal company, from another massive mountaintop removal operation.

Wendy Gabriel is a green living freelance writer, her work has been published by the Chicago Sun-Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Reuters and Fox News. She is the owner of My Green Side.org, a columnist for Examiner.com and a weekly on-air contributor to The Christopher Gabriel Program. You can listen to her Wednesdays on AM970 WDAY where she talks about Simple Tips for Green Living.