MOVE THE ASH!
• 21 million tons of toxic coal ash
• In an unlined pond next to the Mobile River
• Covers an area equal to 451 football fields
Say No To Cap-In-Place!
We must continue to stand united to ensure COMPLETE REMOVAL, RECYCLING, & CLOSURE of the coal ash pond at Plant Barry. Help us get the ash moved by contacting your legislators today!
Twenty-five miles from Mobile, there is a toxic lagoon containing 21 million tons of dangerous coal ash which is polluting groundwater with arsenic and cobalt among other elements.
The pond sits on the bank of the Mobile River and covers an area equal to 451 football fields. A single dirt dike is the only thing holding the toxic stew from surging into the delta, then flowing down the Mobile River, and finally into Mobile Bay.
A spill from the Plant Barry coal ash lagoon would be 20 times the volume of the BP oil spill which was 96 miles from Alabama coast.
Alabama Power plans to close the pond by recycling some of the ash and consolidating and capping the remaining ash in the existing unlined pond. This approach leaves the toxic sludge sitting in groundwater on the bank of the Mobile River where it will continue to pollute indefinitely.
The unlined Plant Barry pond is situated in a precarious site surrounded on three sides by the Mobile River in the Tensaw Delta making it susceptible to breach by a hurricane or flood. This area is also located within the 100-year flood plain*.
*An area with at least a 26% chance a catastrophic flood within 30 years.
WHAT IS COAL ASH?
Coal ash is a catchall term for several kinds of waste left over after coal is burned for energy at power plants. It contains high concentrations of heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cobalt, mercury, selenium, and lead which are hazardous to human health, wildlife, and waterways located near coal ash ponds.
A COAL ASH DISASTER
In Dec. 2008, the failure of a dike at TVA's coal-fired power plant near Kingston, Tenn., released 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash into the Emory and Clinch rivers and buried about 300 acres of land.
SPEAKER REQUESTS
Invite our speakers to your organization to learn more about the severe environmental threat posed by the toxic lagoon at Barry Steam Plant.
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Email: move.the.ash@gmail.com
