State's foot-dragging on polycythemia vera study release sparks FOIA request

Last week I reported that the public meeting to discuss the results of the federal study of polycythemia vera rates in the Hometown area had been delayed. The move has sparked worry and suspicion among local environmental health advocates. In fact, one of them has publicly accused state health officials of attempting to cover up the results -- and he has also taken action to shake them loose.

Responding to a news report on the delay that appeared in the Pottsville Republican (I'd link to the story, titled "Release of polycythemia vera findings on hold," but the link seems to be broken), Dante Picciano -- a Tamaqua-area attorney and geneticist who has been a leader in efforts to get public health officials to address local environmental health problems -- disclosed on his Web site his concern that state health officials don't want the study's results made public. He suspects they especially don't want to disclose the results right on the heels of a just-released report documenting extensive groundwater contamination as a result of the state's so-called "beneficial use" program for coal ash, as well as sloppy record-keeping for the program by state regulators. Picciano wrote:

We are hearing that the heads of the Pennsylvania Department of Heath and the Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) are meeting in State College to discuss ways to dismiss the results of the polycythemia vera study. Our sources tell us that the PA DOH and the PA DEP will try to blame exposure to radon gas in this area as the cause for the increase in the number of cases of polycythemia vera. Since radon is a naturally occurring gas, industry cannot be blamed for the problem.

However, radon exposure will not fly as an out for the PA DOH or the PA DEP. We have enough data that strongly indicate that radon gas is not a significant factor for the cause of the increase in polycythemia vera. We will wait until the PA DOH and the PA DEP come out with their ridiculous radon theory before we release our information.

Stay tuned for more information on the PA DOH cover-up of the polycythemia vera study.

Also raising eyebrows among local environmental advocates were comments by U.S. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) during his visit Friday to the Broad Mountain Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in the Schuylkill County community of Frackville, not far from where the coal ash study was released. The event was originally characterized as a campaign rally by the Schuylkill County Republican Party, but a press release that Specter's office put out that day said he would discuss the health study, the Hazleton Standard-Speaker reported. But Specter didn't mention the study until asked about it by a reporter, according to the paper:

"They say they're not prepared to release the findings yet. I'm pressing them on it, to do it and do it right," Specter said ... .

Adding to the concerns surrounding the report and its release, Specter then told the gathering that he expected the public meeting about the study to take place on Oct. 15. But when the paper contacted the Department of Health to confirm that date, officials there said that date was not definite.

The news that Specter -- at whose behest the study was originally launched -- was "pressing" the state to release the results and had been left in the dark about when the meeting would be held hardly instilled confidence in those already suspicious about the delay. Here's what Picciano had to say about it in response to my request for comment:

This study has been done for weeks, if not for months. Now, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is doing everything possible to delay its release. The Department of Health is unhappy with the results and is buying time trying to come up with an explanation that will get Pennsylvania's dumping industries off the hook. The Department of Health is saying to hell with the people dying of cancer. We must protect our dumping industries.

I filed a request with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry under the Freedom of Information Act for a copy of the study. It will be interesting to see if the Pennsylvania Department of Health's request for additional time supersedes the requirements of federal law.

The Freedom of Information Act provides for the disclosure of documents controlled by the U.S. government. For more information about the Act and its use, click here.

Superfund365 coming to Hometown

An online project that will be documenting one Superfund site each day for a year will soon be arriving in the Hometown area. Led by Brooke Singer, an assistant professor of new media at the State University of New York at Purchase, the project is titled Superfund365. The project began on Sept. 1 in the New York area and will wrap up next year in Hawaii.

Next week it's scheduled to make stops at several Superfund sites in the Hometown area: the Palmerton Zinc Pile on Wednesday, Oct. 3; Eastern Diversified Metals in Hometown on Thursday, Oct. 4; and McAdoo Associates in McAdoo on Friday, Oct. 6. The project's producers will be conducting video interviews with people involved with or impacted by the Superfund sites.

For a complete listing of sites the project will visit, click here.

Guards asleep on job at Pa. nuke plant -- and regulators snoozing, too

WCBS-TV in New York has aired a disturbing video shot undercover at Exelon's Peach Bottom nuclear power plant showing security guards asleep on the job in the facility, which is located in southeastern Pennsylvania about 100 miles from Hometown. In response to the video, an Exelon official reports that his company has taken action and is in the process of terminating its contract with security provider Wackenhut.

But that raises several concerns.

First, why does it take an undercover video for the company to correct such a serious problem? Why are Exelon (which also operates the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, Pa.) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission unable to provide appropriate oversight of employees providing a service as critical as guarding a commercial nuclear facility?

Second, the Exelon official doesn't say who the company plans to hire in Wackenhut's place. But if it opts to go with Securitas, Wackenhut's main competitor, I would not breathe a sigh of relief: My own award-winning investigation of conditions for Securitas guards at Progress Energy's Shearon Harris plant near Raleigh, N.C. revealed numerous problems with security at that plant, which houses one of the nation's largest stockpiles of spent fuel. Problems reported by whistle-blowing guards included chronically malfunctioning security doors to critical areas of the plant and supervisors forcing guards to cheat on tests. Guards also reported difficulties staying awake on the job because of the unreasonably long hours they were required to work. That and many of the other security problems at the plant were related to Progress' and Securitas' apparent unwillingness to spend the money to do the job right. Earlier this month, the NRC levied a $65,000 fine against Progress for the security problems it confirmed, but one wonders what sort of deterrent that is to a company with annual revenues exceeding $10 billion.

Furthermore, Shearon Harris is not the only nuke plant experiencing problems with Securitas guards. I was recently contacted by a former Securitas guard from First Energy's Beaver Valley nuclear plant in western Pennsylvania. Here's what she had to say about the state of nuclear security there:

"I worked at Beaver Valley Nuclear plant in Pa. for three years and have never seen any thing like it in my life. Talk about a complete snow job to the public. We always thought that we were clowns in a circus. We dressed up good, looked tuff, but no one knew what they were doing. It is really appalling. The Nuclear security industry is really the greatest show on earth..."

It's clear this nation has a systemic problem with security at commercial nuclear power plants that's putting the public at risk. It's also clear that the plant owners and NRC are unable or unwilling to take proactive steps to find and correct the problems, leaving far too much of that work up to whistle-blowers, independent watchdogs, and the media. This reality has also been documented in detail by the Project on Government Oversight in its groundbreaking report on post-9/11 security at commercial nuke plants titled Voices From Inside the Fences.

So what's the solution? The Securitas guards I interviewed for my Shearon Harris stories had a suggestion: Take the profit motive out of commercial nuclear security by federalizing the guard forces. It's more critical than ever for our government to consider this option as the nuclear industry pushes its expansion plans.

Public meeting on polycythemia vera study postponed

The public meeting to discuss the results of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's study of polycythemia vera rates in the Hometown area -- which as I reported previously was originally scheduled for Sept. 29 at Hazleton's Genetti Inn -- has been postponed. This was the explanation I got from the ATSDR's Dr. Vince Seaman:

...[T]he meeting was postponed last Friday due to continuing discussions between State and Federal agencies about the appropriate "next steps" and who will do them.

I do not think that it will be more than a few weeks - but I would certainly wait until an official press release before I plan anything.

As soon as I get word on rescheduling, I'll post the details here.

New Study Reports Pennsylvania Groundwater Contamination From Coal Ash

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 18, 2007

Contacts:
Jeff Stant, Clean Air Task Force (317) 331-3607 (cell)
Lisa Evans, Earthjustice (781) 771-8916
Eric Schaeffer, Environmental Integrity Project (202) 296-8800
Dante Picciano (570) 386-5744

New Study Reports Pennsylvania Groundwater Contamination from Coal Ash

Ash from power plants used to fill mines is poisoning water throughout PA; Local Group Petitions EPA for Assistance

Harrisburg, PA – Disposing of coal ash in mines is contaminating water supplies throughout Pennsylvania, according to a report released today by Clean Air Task Force (CATF) and Earthjustice. In 10 of 15 mines examined across the state, groundwater and streams near areas where coal ash, or coal combustion waste, was placed had levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and selenium and other pollutants above safe standards.

"Disposing of coal combustion waste in these mines is threatening water supplies all over the state," said Jeff Stant, director of the Pennsylvania Minefill Research Project at the Clean Air Task Force. "If the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection won’t act now to stop these dangers, the US EPA should step in to protect the residents of Pennsylvania who live near coal ash mine fills."

The study, “Impacts on Water Quality from Placement of Coal Combustion Waste in Pennsylvania Coal Mines,” is available here: www.catf.us/goto/paminefill.

A 4-page background document is available here: http://www.earthjustice.org/library/factsheets/coal-ash-in-pennsylvania.pdf

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) has repeatedly touted the 'beneficial use' of coal ash in these active and abandoned mines, claiming that the practice limits the outflow of acidic water from mines. The study found the opposite was true: in six of the nine permits that used coal ash to treat acid mine drainage, acidity levels actually increased, leaving the mines more acidic at the end of monitoring, not less.

"For years, federal agencies have refused to adopt meaningful safeguards for disposing of this toxic material. They have allowed states like Pennsylvania to use coal mines as dump sites for coal ash from power plants, calling it 'beneficial use,'" said Lisa Evans, an attorney for Earthjustice and one of the report's contributing authors. "This report shows that this practice is doing more harm than good."

CATF and Earthjustice, in coordination with professional geologists and water quality experts, found that a lack of safeguards to keep coal ash out of water, inadequate monitoring and no cleanup standards has led to unaddressed contamination in two-thirds of the mines studied. The study reinforced findings by the National Academies of Science that high contaminant levels in coal ash leachate pose human health and ecological concerns and that enforceable minimum standards are needed in national regulations for the minefilling of coal combustion wastes.

"I have sampled mine pools under waste sites in eastern Pennsylvania for more than 20 years and am extremely concerned about high levels of lead and cadmium in mine pools underneath mines where coal ash has been placed," said Robert Gadinski, a professional geologist retired from PADEP who was a contributing author of the report.

The study makes 13 recommendations to improve the PADEP 'beneficial use' placement of coal ash in mines. These changes include safeguards in regulations that would require adequate short- and long-term monitoring, limits on pollution allowed from the ash, isolation of ash from water, and financial resources set aside by operators to clean up the pollution caused by their ash.

In addition, a local watershed group is demanding immediate action instead of waiting for PADEP. "Based on the findings of this report, the Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association is petitioning the US EPA today to examine the contamination of massive mine pools under the Ellengowan and BD Mines for cleanup under Superfund," said Robert Krick of the Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association. Monitoring data reveals lead and cadmium 30-40 times federal drinking water standards and hundreds of times the national water quality criteria down gradient from the 16 million tons of coal ash dumped in the two mines.

"With some 120 mines permitted to dump coal ash, Pennsylvania leads the nation in this practice, which is destined to grow in Appalachia if trends continue," said Eric Schaeffer of the Environmental Integrity Project, which has been monitoring the Pennsylvania’s coal ash program. "We hope this Report will show EPA and OSM officials that common sense safeguards, recommended by the National Academies of Science and enforced at landfills that accept far less dangerous municipal wastes, are needed."

Over 129 million tons of coal combustion waste (CCW) are generated from U.S. coal-fired power plants each year and this waste has poisoned groundwater supplies in at least 23 states according to EPA. Last month, EPA released a report that found that cancer risks from exposure to CCW lagoons is 900 times greater than government safety standards recommend. Today's study offers a glimpse into the impact that CCW disposal has had in only a fraction of mines where it is placed. Currently, there are about 600 existing CCW landfills and surface impoundments in the United States and hundreds of mine fills. These sites can contain high levels of lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury and arsenic, among other toxic chemical pollutants.

To view video footage of some of the Pennsylvania sites, please visit: http://web.mac.com/green_wuuti/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

Groups to release report on statewide coal ash contamination

MEDIA ADVISORY:
DATE: September 13, 2007

Contact:
Jeff Stant, Clean Air Task Force, (317) 359-1306
Lisa Evans, Earthjustice, (781) 631-4119
Dante Picciano, (570) 386-5744

GROUPS TO RELEASE REPORT ON STATEWIDE COAL ASH CONTAMINATION
Study finds mines plugged with toxic coal ash have poisoned water across PA

MAHANOY CITY, PA -- A coalition of local and national environmental groups, concerned residents, and academics will gather on Tuesday, September 18th, at the site of one of Pennsylvania's largest coal ash minefilling operations, calling for the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to change the misguided practice of backfilling mines with the poisonous byproduct of coal-fired power plants. With the smokestacks of the Schuylkill Energy power plant and the toxic Ellengowan mining site in the background, the group will release an exhaustive report that documents unprecedented levels of groundwater contamination at this site and others throughout the state. The group will also call upon the federal Environmental Protection Agency to intervene and investigate the site under its Superfund authority. The report’s authors and local environmental advocates will be available to answer questions.

WHO:
Jeff Stant, Director, Power Plant Waste Program, Clean Air Task Force
Lisa Evans, Attorney, Earthjustice
Robert Gadinski, Geologist, PADEP (retired)
Robert Krick, Vice President, Mahanoy Creek Watershed Association
Brian Whitman, Professor of Environmental Engineering, Wilkes University
Dante Picciano, Attorney and Scientist
Bill Lockwood, Save Us From Future Environmental Risk

WHAT:
Press conference to release report on statewide contamination from coal mines backfilled with toxic coal ash. Conference will be held at one of Pennsylvania’s largest minefilling operations.

WHEN:
Tuesday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m.

WHERE:
St. Mary's Byzantine Cemetery overlooking Schuylkill Energy power plant, Mahanoy City, PA (click here for map)

EPA invites comments on coal ash waste disposal as evidence of danger mounts

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently seeking comments from the public about worrisome new information on the disposal of waste from burning coal -- and how the information should affect the way the agency regulates such waste.

In a Federal Register notice published Aug. 29, EPA announced the availability of new information and data contained in documents including a joint U.S. Department of Energy and EPA report titled Coal Combustion Waste Management at Landfills and Surface Impoundments, 1994-2004 and a draft risk assessment conducted by EPA on the management of CCW in landfills and surface impoundments.

The risk assessment examined 181 coal combustion waste disposal sites throughout the country and found that unlined coal ash waste ponds pose a cancer risk 900 times above what the government considers "acceptable." The report also found that coal ash disposal sites release toxic chemicals and metals such as arsenic, lead, boron, selenium, cadmium, thallium, and other pollutants at levels that endanger human health and the environment.

Environmental and public health advocacy groups including Earthjustice, the Clean Air Task Force and the Environmental Integrity Project have long called for regulations on the toxic ash produced by coal-fired power plants. Instead, a common industry practice is to mix the material with water and dump it into unlined or inadequately lined ponds, allowing pollutants to seep into groundwater supplies.

Just today, the Annapolis (Md.) Capital newspaper reported on a rural community grappling with drinking wells that are contaminated with cadmium, thallium and other toxic metals due to a nearby coal combustion waste dump operated by Baltimore-based Constellation Energy. According to Earthjustice, at least 23 states have poisoned surface or groundwater supplies from improper disposal of coal ash.

The EPA report found that coal ash dumped in unlined or clay-lined ponds and landfills pose the greatest risk. According to data collected in 1995, more than 60 percent of the country's coal ash disposal units are unlined or clay-lined. While the use of a composite liner significantly reduces the risk of exposure to health-threatening pollution, the federal government and most states do not require such protective measures.

"Strict standards regulating the disposal of coal ash are long overdue," Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans said in a statement. "There is no excuse for further delay. The EPA has the data. They know how grave the health risk is and yet still millions of people remain exposed to this dangerous waste. Coal ash is our country's second largest source of industrial waste, and it's time the EPA made these polluters do their part to clean up."

About 129 million tons of coal ash is generated each year in the United States and dumped in some 600 coal ash landfills and industrial waste ponds. It's also increasingly used to fill in abandoned mines throughout Pennsylvania's coal regions. The Keystone State is the nation's fourth-leading generator of such waste, after Kentucky, Texas and Indiana.

Fight against sludge dumping heats up in Schuylkill County

The supervisors of East Brunswick Township, a rural community south of Hometown, have voted to defend their anti-sludge-dumping ordinance from a challenge by the Pennsylvania Attorney General, the Times News reports. The supervisors have hired to defend the ordinance its author, Tom Linzey of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund. Nearby Rush Township, where Hometown is located, and the borough of Tamaqua recently became among the first municipalities in the country to adopt similar ordinances banning sludge dumping; CELDF also crafted those regulations, which so far have not faced legal challenges.