FAQs
Q. What is coal ash?
A. Coal ash, which includes fly ash, is the residue of minerals and unburned
carbon that remain following the combustion of coal in power plants to generate
electricity. Coal ash is similar in consistency to talcum powder. With the
installation of pollution control devices on power plants in recent decades, the
residue collected by that equipment requires further management.
Q. Why can't Constellation Energy simply eliminate the production of coal ash?
A. Demand for electricity in Maryland and the nation continues to rise and the
capacity to generate enough electricity is increasingly strained. Maryland's
Public Service Commission has warned of potential brownouts in the near future
because of insufficient electricity-generating capacity. While Constellation
Energy is pursuing opportunities to create new generation capacity through means
other than coal, such as nuclear and natural gas, the reality is that coal-fired
generating plants remain essential to meeting Maryland's growing electricity
demand. Coal ash is an inescapable result of coal combustion, so finding ways to
manage and re-use coal ash are essential.
Q. What are the uses of coal ash?
A. Coal ash has a number of useful, eco-friendly applications. It is used to
manufacture cement, concrete, asphalt and other building materials, to
refill surface mines, and to create stable foundations for roads,
embankments and pavements. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes on
its Web site that the use of coal ash and other coal combustion products
"yields environmental, economic, and product-performance benefits." The
reuse of coal ash saves "virgin resources, and reduces energy consumption
and greenhouse gas emissions," says the EPA. Coal ash can be substituted for
cement in making concrete, natural gypsum in making wallboard, and gravel in
making roofing granules, reducing the need to mine these products and
lessening the demand to open new mines that disturb the land and destroy
wildlife habitats. Coal ash possesses cementing properties in the presence
of lime, so adding it to cement yields concrete that is stronger and more
durable.
Q. What happens to the coal ash Constellation Energy produces in its Maryland power plants?
A. Constellation Energy's coal-burning power plants in Maryland produce nearly
800,000 tons of coal ash and byproducts annually. Approximately 60 percent of
that ash is used beneficially to produce such products as blasting grit,
flowable fill, cement and concrete. Other ash is used as structural fill to
reclaim surface mines or to provide backfill for road construction.
Constellation Energy's beneficial use rate is well above the industry average of
43 percent. The remaining ash is properly disposed of in a permitted landfill.
Q. Who regulates coal ash disposal?
.A. In Maryland, the Department of the Environment (MDE) regulates coal ash use
in reclamation, and also regulates disposal. MDE requires pollution prevention
measures, groundwater monitoring and dust control. Maryland state law specifies
that coal ash is not a hazardous waste.
Q. What does the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency say about coal ash?
A. The EPA has conducted two regulatory determinations on the management and use
of coal combustion products, and has determined that "these materials did not
warrant regulation as a hazardous waste."
Q. Is coal ash toxic?
A. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "studies and research
conducted or supported by EPA, Electric Power and Research Institute (EPRI),
government agencies, and universities indicate that the beneficial uses of coal
combustion products have not been shown to present significant risks to human
health or the environment. As with many other common substances, precautions and
sound management practices should be applied when using coal combustion
products."
Q. Should I be concerned about coal ash?
A. With proper handling and disposal, coal ash poses no danger to humans or the environment.
Q. Does coal ash contain mercury?
A. The coal from which coal ash results contains trace amounts of mercury. The
EPA Web site cites studies demonstrating that the release of mercury into the
environment from coal combustion products (CCPs) is "negligible."
Q. Does coal ash emit radiation?
A. Coal contains naturally occurring radioactive elements. The EPA has
classified coal ash as “diffuse, naturally occurring radioactive materials,”
which is the agency's most benign radioactive classification. The EPA notes that
“the level of radioactivity in combustion products (such as coal ash) is about
the same as the level found in surface rocks and soil. A long-term Tennessee
Valley Authority study of a 42-acre site that used more than 1 million cubic
yards of coal ash in structural fill indicated that ambient radon levels
measured directly over the fly (coal) ash fill were comparable to the levels
measured in control areas without fly (coal) ash.”
Q. Does coal ash pose an air-borne health hazard?
A. The EPA recommends that routine precautions be taken during transportation
and delivery of dust-containing products such as coal ash. Risk assessments
performed by EPA indicate that the placement of coal ash in surface mines or
landfills does not present a significant airborne risk. MDE's chief public
health officer does not consider dust levels at or near the BBSS site to be
dangerous to public health.