AES Puerto Rico: 20 Años de Contaminación por Cenizas de Carbón

A statement by Earthjustice detailing twenty years of environmental contamination in Puerto Rico caused by Applied Energy Services (AES) through the mismanagement of coal ash at its Guayama plant.

• Applied Energy Services (AES) opened a coal plant in Guayama, Puerto Rico, in 2002. The plant produces an average of 800 tons of coal ash daily, which was stored in an uncovered waste pile exceeding 12 stories in height. This storage method allowed toxic residues to migrate toward nearby schools and homes and left the waste vulnerable to rain and hurricane winds.
• The coal ash waste pile was situated atop the South Coast Aquifer, a primary source of drinking water for much of Puerto Rico. This resulted in the leakage of hazardous contaminants, including sulfate, radium, and arsenic, into the groundwater.
• AES sold coal ash as cheap 'fill' material to dozens of construction sites in southeastern Puerto Rico. In many instances, this toxic ash remains uncovered in the soil near hospitals, schools, parks, and residential areas.
• A study by the University of Puerto Rico indicated that rates of respiratory diseases and cancer doubled between 2016 and 2018. The document notes that the populations living closest to the plant are predominantly Afro-Puerto Rican and low-income.
• The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a compliance letter to AES regarding its remediation plan, which proposed using Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) to clean groundwater. The EPA stated that MNA is highly ineffective for coal ash contaminants and noted a lack of supporting data to show how the plan would restore groundwater or prevent the continued contamination of selenium and lithium.

APA

Valencia, R. (2022). AES Puerto Rico: 20 Años de Contaminación por Cenizas de Carbón. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/experts/christine-santillana/aes-puerto-rico-tras-20-anos-de-contaminacion-por-cenizas-de-carbon

Chicago

Valencia, Robert. AES Puerto Rico: 20 Años de Contaminación por Cenizas de Carbón. Earthjustice, 2022. https://earthjustice.org/experts/christine-santillana/aes-puerto-rico-tras-20-anos-de-contaminacion-por-cenizas-de-carbon.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Valencia |first1=Robert |title=AES Puerto Rico: 20 Años de Contaminación por Cenizas de Carbón |publisher=Earthjustice |date=13 January 2022 |url=https://earthjustice.org/experts/christine-santillana/aes-puerto-rico-tras-20-anos-de-contaminacion-por-cenizas-de-carbon |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{valencia2022aes, author = {Valencia, Robert}, title = {{AES Puerto Rico: 20 Años de Contaminación por Cenizas de Carbón}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://earthjustice.org/experts/christine-santillana/aes-puerto-rico-tras-20-anos-de-contaminacion-por-cenizas-de-carbon}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }