What Is The Threat Of Duke's 14 Coal Ash Ponds
Written By Cristian Ponce
Duke’s current 14 coal ash ponds pose a great threat to the nearby public, and our local government isn’t doing much to stop it. A coal ash pond is a pit where coal ash (the remains of coal after it is burned) is stored. Duke has 14 in North Carolina. All 14 have been found to contain extremely dangerous chemicals such as arsenic, mercury, thallium and cadmium. Some of these coal ash ponds are placed next to public waterways and don't contain chemical resistant lining. This means these chemicals are leaking out into water, contaminating it.
If this wasn't bad enough, in 2014, a 30 ton coal ash pond spilled into the Dan River, a result of Duke Energy’s careless actions. Millions of people were left without a dependable public water source for over a year. Despite the damage the company has caused to the local environment, it was only fined 109 million dollars. The company pledges to make safer changes, but many of the 14 coal ash ponds still linger near public water sources with their hazardous materials. …show more content…
They have donated millions to campaigns to governors, senators and state lawmakers, including our current governor, Pat Mccrory. Gov. Mccrory worked at Duke for 28 years and has received sizeable political donations in the name of Duke Energy in the past for his campaigns. He also had a private dinner with Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good. He declined to talk about what the topic was at the dinner. 2 days later he announced he would continue to let Duke Energy dump coal ash into
Duke’s current 14 coal ash ponds pose a great threat to the nearby public, and our local government isn’t doing much to stop it. A coal ash pond is a pit where coal ash (the remains of coal after it is burned) is stored. Duke has 14 in North Carolina. All 14 have been found to contain extremely dangerous chemicals such as arsenic, mercury, thallium and cadmium. Some of these coal ash ponds are placed next to public waterways and don't contain chemical resistant lining. This means these chemicals are leaking out into water, contaminating it.
If this wasn't bad enough, in 2014, a 30 ton coal ash pond spilled into the Dan River, a result of Duke Energy’s careless actions. Millions of people were left without a dependable public water source for over a year. Despite the damage the company has caused to the local environment, it was only fined 109 million dollars. The company pledges to make safer changes, but many of the 14 coal ash ponds still linger near public water sources with their hazardous materials. …show more content…
They have donated millions to campaigns to governors, senators and state lawmakers, including our current governor, Pat Mccrory. Gov. Mccrory worked at Duke for 28 years and has received sizeable political donations in the name of Duke Energy in the past for his campaigns. He also had a private dinner with Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good. He declined to talk about what the topic was at the dinner. 2 days later he announced he would continue to let Duke Energy dump coal ash into