Birmingham, AL – Two Birmingham-area coal-fired power plants are among the nation's top three for the amounts of arsenic deposited in onsite ash ponds and landfills, according to a new report.
A report the Environmental Integrity Project released Thursday listed the Gaston Steam Plant in Shelby County and the Gorgas Steam Plant in Walker County as ranked No. 2 and No. 3 for the amounts of arsenic deposited from 2000 to 2006.
Environmental groups are calling for tougher regulation of the waste generated by burning coal after the dike on an ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant near Knoxville ruptured in December.
Michael Sznajderman, a spokesman for Alabama Power Co., which operates the two plants, said ash ponds and dams at its six coal-fired plants are monitored and engineered to keep toxic materials on the site.
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