U.S. wants farmers to use coal waste on fields - it contains mercury, arsenic, lead

[Are_grits_groceries]

The federal government is encouraging farmers to spread a chalky waste from coal-fired power plants on their fields to loosen and fertilize soil even as it considers regulating coal wastes for the first time.

The material is produced by power plant "scrubbers" that remove acid-rain-causing sulfur dioxide from plant emissions. A synthetic form of the mineral gypsum, it also contains mercury, arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.

The Environmental Protection Agency says those toxic metals occur in only tiny amounts that pose no threat to crops, surface water or people. But some environmentalists say too little is known about how the material affects crops, and ultimately human health, for the government to suggest that farmers use it.

"This is a leap into the unknown," said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "This stuff has materials in it that we're trying to prevent entering the environment from coal-fired power plants, and then to turn around and smear it across ag lands raises some real questions."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/22/AR2009122203336.html?wprss=rss_business

Some of these substances can collect in the human body over time.

[KG]

1. more like it's the utility/extraction corps looking for a way out of processing thier wastes.

[SpiralHawk]

2. Coal crap and genetically mutant seeds plus petrochemical pesticides & preservatives

No wonder America is infected with republicons.

[Motown_Johnny]

3. Gypsum is good for soil and is used for exactly that propose

but I can't believe that existing farmland would need it.


The purpose of adding gypsum is to break compacted soil or soil with so much clay in it that it does not drain well. Compacted soil can be broken up by tilling mechanically and the clay soil won't be good for crops anyways. Add to that the danger of the harmful chemicals and someone has left the reservation.


It sounds crazy to me.

[ThomWV]

4. Calling it Gypsum is sort of misleading but there is more

I'm going to give you a real quick lesson in how to capture nasty stuff in coal by burning it in a special way. Here's what you do. You get a very large container and you partially fill it with ground up limestone. Then you blow in a lot finely ground coal, with lots of air and light it up. So the coal burns as it churns around in the air blown(fluidized) limestone bed which, in the process, captures much of the nasty stuff in the coal. Its called fluidized bed combustion and, contrary to the article, has next to nothing to do with smoke stack scrubbers. From time to time the the limestone has to be replaced.

Anyway, read the end of the article and you'll see that the the stuff has been used in drywall - think about that for a bit. Would you rather have your walls made of the stuff or have it dumped on fields where it might find its way into your food?

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. And we got all cranky

because Chinese drywall was supposed to be bad for us. meh!

[madokie]

6. My experience with the stuff is it will cause compaction not loosening

so someone has his or her head up their asses

[era veteran]

7. The lowest spot on my property had been used as a cinder dump

I have been an organic 'nut' since reading Divine Right's Trip in The Whole Earth Catalog. The spot where the cinders were dumped is devoid of life. I have tilled and screened loads of this trash from my land. Thank goodness it is only in the one place. Robert Rodale published The Complete Book of Composting in 1960 and warned against using this as a soil loosener. There are other chemicals that can be present in toxic quantities such as sulfur and iron. Real gypsum is great but it takes a lot of it to work. Calling this crap gypsum is a blatant lie. I smell the stench of King Koal at work. Next they will also claim tax breaks because they are storing carbon. The mind boggles.

[Orsino]

8. Can't they make a rug large enough to sweep it under?

Can't they wave a magic wand to do away with inconvenient waste?

No? Can they at least make us eat it?