Being able to dispose of waste that is created by humans in an efficient and safe manner is an unpleasant and often times overlooked aspect of living in communities and modern life. With the population of the Earth ever increasing and our increasing ability and seeming need to create ever more and varied waste that is produced on a daily basis just from living our normal lives is placing a huge burden on society to dispose of the waste so that it does not become a problem for us in the future.
With limited available space and competing interests this problem is becoming much more complicated and potentially hazardous and will be of major concern for the foreseeable future. Here is one small case in point, but it highlights very well the challenges that we face with disposing of all types of waste.
A coal fired plant near St. Louis that produces about 500,000 tons of coal ash each year is looking to build a landfill next to its plant so it can dispose of this coal ash easily and economically, but there are several problems with this plan and it has local residents and activists worried about the wisdom of this plan and the long term safety of the local population. Coal ash is produced when coal is burned in coal-fired plants to make electricity. Coal ash is extremely hazardous and contains many toxins and pollutants including toxic heavy metals like Arsenic, Mercury, Cadmium, Chromium, Selenium and Antimony.
All of these heavy metals are toxic and will cause serious health problems such as respiratory diseases, nervous system disorders, anemia, brittle bones, learning disabilities, developmental disorders, autism, multiple sclerosis and even death. The main problem with the landfill is that it is located on an existing flood plain near the Missouri river. The reason it is called a flood plain is because that area will flood on occasion, maybe not very often but it can be expected to happen sometime in the future. If it does flood then the contents of the landfill could be washed away where it will enter and poison the environment and possibly enter our water supply which would be very hazardous to humans and other animals.
No matter the amount or quality of levees or water flow preparations that are in place at some point the area could flood. The other issue is that there are no zoning regulations regarding the building of a coal ash landfill so the local government may not be able to stop the company from building the landfill on its proposed site. "In June, the federal government published proposed regulations for coal ash. One would classify coal ash as hazardous waste. That would mean that coal ash would have to be disposed of in a hazardous waste landfill. The proposed Franklin County coal-ash dump wouldn't qualify". But the proposed regulations are just, proposed, they haven't gone into effect yet so for the time being they are worthless.
This is a problem that should have been dealt with decades ago but with the huge influence of coal-fired companies and the coal industry it is no wonder that nothing has been done about this serious issue. The Federal Government needs to set strict standards concerning the disposal of coal ash all other toxins, the health of all Americans is at stake.
Author Resource:-
Patrick Hayes is the owner of Kelatox Products. He has been an outspoken advocate of proper nutrition, detoxification and exercise for a long time.For more information about Kelatox and chelation therapy, visit us at www.ChelationHealthProducts.com
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