*It isn’t discussed in the article, but the samples taken from Reed Creek were obtained by Cancer Cluster Army NC, and an environmental company, that Earthjustice hired to go out with us. Earthjustice hired that company, because we convinced them that we might could find coal ash, by using an industrial geiger counter, to look for the radium. This method worked at every coal ash fill that we went to, including the daycare.
July 31, 2024
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — As Duke Energy downplays the risks of coal ash buried under at least 16 sites in Mooresville, including a day care, advocates have formally asked the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the extent of coal ash contamination in the town, citing a recent radioactive sample collected from a separate location.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan dated July 24, 2024, Earthjustice and Southern Environmental Law Center cited recent samples from a Reed Creek Park streambank they obtained that showed “elevated radioactivity.” The sample identified a level of radium more than four times above approximate background levels and potentially above the EPA’s cleanup standard, according to the non-profit legal organizations.
“The coal ash problem in Mooresville is not limited to the coal ash found on the stream bank. The elevated radium found in the coal ash indicates a much larger problem … ” the groups said in their letter. ” … We request that EPA investigate the threat posed by coal ash fills in Mooresville, particularly in areas of exposed ash and in areas used by the public … Delay in determining the extent of the threat will result in a delay in clean up and potential further harm to the health and environment of residents of Mooresville.”
Their letter suggests the coal ash “was likely released” upstream when a sinkhole formed below a structural fill under the now-closed Tire Masters site. In May, Mooresville leaders assured residents limited test results found their drinking water was not compromised. At the time, Mayor Chris Carney told WCNC Charlotte it was a relief the town wasn’t dealing with the “horrific contamination” of the stream.
(The town of Mooresville only tested the water from Reed Creek, one time in five years. They did it right after a rain event. Since 2022, CCA-NC has been requesting that the Mooresville Board of Commissioners test the contaminated creek. In May of 2024, CCA-NC explained to the board that needed to bring in scientist to study the coal ash itself, which can be found for over a mile in the creek. Explained how they needed to take an industrial geiger counter into the creek. Instead, they only tested the creek water, and proclaimed all is well. As of this writing, Duke Energy has removed 40 tons of coal ash from Reed Creek, and cleanup is ongoing.)
As a WCNC Charlotte reported Tuesday, up to 100,000 tons of coal ash, a potentially toxic coal-burning byproduct, is buried below and around Tutor Time of Mooresville. WCNC Charlotte found some of the coal ash around the daycare to be exposed and also discovered coal ash too close to the surface, which is a violation of state rules meant to protect the public.
Since regulators have apparently not tested the coal ash at the location, WCNC Charlotte collected samples near the day care and sent them to be tested, for among other things, the known carcinogens arsenic and radium. The same scientist analyzing WCNC Charlotte’s sample previously tested the radium level along Reed Creek Park for Earthjustice, according to the letter sent to the EPA.
Duke Power legally sold coal ash as fill dirt for construction decades ago before growing field evidence pointed to far-reaching danger to humans. However, as far back as the 1970s, researchers identified elevated levels of radium in coal ash. Meanwhile, in the 1980s, a report to Congress detailed elevated levels of arsenic in coal ash.
Duke Energy has long maintained coal ash is not toxic.
“The extremely small amount of radiation from coal ash is similar to the background radiation we experience every day from natural soils,” Duke Energy spokesperson Bill Norton said in an email to WCNC Charlotte.
This is the letter to the EPA, with radium results four times higher than considered safe by the EPA.
Duke Energy is wrong.
Nate Morabito full article
