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Customize this template Letter to the Editor and send to your local newspapers and media outlets to let decision makers know that coal ash must be classified as hazardous waste.
To the Editor,
Burning coal for electricity generates more than 120 million tons of toxic coal ash every year, enough to fill a million railroad cars – a toxic train 9,600 miles long that would stretch between New York City and Los Angeles 3.5 times. Coal ash contains arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury, thorium, and uranium and numerous other toxic, radioactive, and carcinogenic compounds. Exposure to these dangerous compounds can cause developmental problems in babies and young children, damage internal organs and the nervous system, and cause lung disease and cancer.
Yet there is little regulation of coal ash storage sites, putting us in danger from this hazardous waste.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing a new rule to ensure the safe disposal of coal ash. As expected, the coal industry is fighting to maintain the status quo on coal ash, backing a proposal that ensures coal ash is treated less responsibly than even household trash.
Residents here in YOUR TOWN and across the U.S. want the EPA to classify coal ash as hazardous waste to protect our health, protect our communities, and hold the coal industry accountable.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME