EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash

The document highlights the risk of hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen, leaching from unlined coal ash disposal sites into groundwater. It criticizes the EPA for treating the chemical as a non-carcinogen when ingested in its coal ash rule-making and calls for the regulation of coal ash as a hazardous waste.

• Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in drinking water is linked to stomach and mouth cancers, with the State of California proposing a public health goal of 0.02 parts per billion, which is 5,000 times lower than the current federal drinking water standard for total chromium.
• Coal ash disposal sites are a significant source of hexavalent chromium leaching into groundwater; a 2006 study by the Electric Power Research Institute and DOE found that 97–100 percent of the chromium leaching from coal ash is hexavalent chromium.
• The electric power industry is a dominant source of chromium pollution, reporting the release of 10.6 million pounds of chromium and chromium compounds to disposal sites in 2009, accounting for 24% of all industrial releases of these substances that year.
• A report by Earthjustice, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Environmental Integrity Project identified 28 contaminated sites across 17 states where chromium levels in water exceeded federal or state standards.
• The EPA is criticized for ignoring the ingestion risk of hexavalent chromium in its proposed coal ash rule-making, treating it as a carcinogen only via inhalation and as a non-carcinogen for ingestion purposes.

APA

Earthjustice (n.d.). EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/coalash_factsheet.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash. n.d. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/coalash_factsheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/coalash_factsheet.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjusticendepas, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/coalash_factsheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }