US labels coal ash as non- hazardous waste

London

IN a disappointment to environmentalists, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued rules on Friday labelling coal ash, a by-product of coal-based power production containing toxic materials such as arsenic and lead, as non-hazardous waste.

The label means that states and environmental groups taking legal action, and not the EPA, will be the primary enforcers of the first-ever federal rules targeting coal ash, which will require the closure of some coal ash holding ponds leaking contaminants into surrounding water, but will not cover others.