Cleaning Up Hazardous Coal Ash Can Create Jobs and Improve the Environment

The document examines the environmental and health risks of coal ash, one of the largest industrial waste streams in the US, and advocates for 'clean closure' (full remediation and excavation) over limited cleanup plans. Using case studies from the J. M. Stuart plant in Ohio and the Sebree Generating Station in Kentucky, the authors demonstrate that comprehensive cleanup generates significantly more jobs and economic output than utility-proposed plans. The report highlights that coal ash sites disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color, particularly in the Ohio River Valley, and recommends stronger EPA enforcement, polluter-pays funding, and the prioritization of dislocated workers in hiring.

• Coal ash represents one of the two largest industrial waste streams in the United States, with electric utility companies generating 4.5 billion tons between 1966 and 2017 and averaging 101 million tons annually from 2015 to 2019.
• Coal ash contains toxic elements—including arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, lead, radium, and selenium—that can cause severe health issues such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, and brain damage in children.
• The Ohio River Valley is a major concentration point for coal ash waste; of the 738 national disposal sites, 161 are located in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
• Coal ash disposal sites disproportionately impact disadvantaged populations; in the Ohio River Valley, 58 percent of the 57 plants with disposal sites are located in low-income communities, a rate higher than the national average of 52 percent.
• Case studies of the J. M. Stuart plant (Ohio) and Sebree Generating Station (Kentucky) show that 'clean closure' plans create more jobs and economic output than company plans, adding over $100 million in economic output to each state's economy.
• During the construction phase of the case study projects, clean closure would create 314 jobs per year in Ohio and 282 jobs per year in Kentucky, compared to 252 and 144 jobs respectively under company plans.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2021). Cleaning Up Hazardous Coal Ash Can Create Jobs and Improve the Environment. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/repairing-the-damage-executive-summary_1.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Cleaning Up Hazardous Coal Ash Can Create Jobs and Improve the Environment. 2021. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/repairing-the-damage-executive-summary_1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Cleaning Up Hazardous Coal Ash Can Create Jobs and Improve the Environment |date=October 2021 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/repairing-the-damage-executive-summary_1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2021cleaning, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Cleaning Up Hazardous Coal Ash Can Create Jobs and Improve the Environment}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/repairing-the-damage-executive-summary_1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }