State records identify up to 100,000 tons of coal ash, a coal-burning byproduct that contains toxic ingredients, under and around Tutor Time of Mooresville.
When questioned by WCNC Charlotte about the practice today, the utility noted the sale of ash followed state regulations at the time focused on “how ash could be used in ways that are safe for people and the environment.”
Dr. Julia Kravchenko, an assistant professor of surgery and population health sciences with the Duke University School of Medicine, told WCNC Charlotte she’s alarmed that kids are regularly playing on top of coal ash. Kravchenko said, although costly, the coal ash should be removed.
“Based on what you know about this situation, do you think it’s safe?” WCNC Charlotte asked.
“Safe for kids to play over the top of coal ash?” she replied. “No. No, I don’t think it’s safe.”
allergic reactions, asthma in children, emphysema, pneumonia, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, kidney disease, developmental disorders in children, neurological disorders in children, complications in pregnancy and childbirth, low birth weight in newborns and cancers. She said while much of the impact depends on a person’s specific make-up and what is actually in the coal ash, children are especially vulnerable.
“They could be easily contaminated and potentially, they have a much higher risk of developing negative adverse health effects compared to older people,” Kravchenko said. “What is very dangerous is that some of these substances, they could be accumulated and stay in the body for years and years and years and it’s very difficult to take them out.”
In addition to the dangers associated with heavy metals in coal ash, like arsenic and radium (known carcinogens), there is also fear of radiation. In the last year, the Environmental Protection Agency warned of increased cancer risks tied to gamma radiation in coal ash.
The agency’s October 2023 draft risk assessment of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) concluded, “Accumulation of CCR can result in elevated cancer risk from incidental ingestion of arsenic and radium, in addition to direct exposure to gamma radiation from radium.”
