January, 28 2010, 10:40am EDT

Groups Galvanize Support for Federal Coal Ash Regulations
Demand US EPA to Release Regulations As Promised
WASHINGTON
Grassroots environmental advocates joined with national groups the Natural Resources Defense Council, Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and the Environmental Integrity Project to raise awareness across the country of the dangers of coal ash and to call for federal regulations of the toxic waste.
Today's Coal Ash Day of Action was marked with an overwhelming grassroots effort to generate letters to newspapers and opinion leaders, as well as thousands of emails and phone calls to the White House and members of Congress.
For over a year, the EPA has been working on plans for the first ever federal rules meant to safeguard communities from the hazards of coal ash ponds and landfills. But concerted industry pressure from some of the country's biggest polluters has stalled EPA's plans.
"Improperly managed, coal ash can pollute water tables, rivers and streams with arsenic, lead and other toxic chemicals," Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with NRDC. "EPA wants to treat coal ash as the hazardous waste that it is but, predictably, the coal industry and utilities that rely on coal have besieged the White House with lobbyists intent on derailing the protections we need. The Obama administration has pledged to put public health above industry pressure. We expect the White House to live up to that promise in this critical instance."
Since the EPA sent a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review last October, industry lobbyists working on behalf of electric utilities, coal-fired power plants and the cement industry have met at least 21 times to push for a relaxed approach that would preserve the status quo: coal ash disposal sites would remain unregulated by federal agencies best equipped to handle such a hazardous waste.
"EPA's proposal to regulate coal ash is still bottled up at the White House Office of Management and Budget, where industry lobbyists are trying to work their will behind closed doors," said Eric Schaeffer, executive director for Environmental Integrity Project. "The Obama Administration needs to get this proposal out into the sunshine, and keep its promise to make decisions that are transparent, and guided by both law and science."
Coal ash is the toxic waste generated by coal-burning power plants. The United States generates 130 million tons of coal ash each year. There are 584 coal ash ponds across the country filled with enough coal ash to flow continuously over Niagara Falls for three days straight. An equal amount of the toxic ash is buried in unlined and unmonitored landfills. Pollution in coal ash leads to cancer, organ failure and nervous system damage. Despite the fact that these sites pose risks to human health and environment, the U.S. EPA has never regulated coal ash disposal.
"We know that coal ash is becoming increasingly toxic, with harmful levels of arsenic, selenium and other pollutants; we know that those living near coal ash sites face an increased risk of cancer; and we know that the current patchwork of state regulations is woefully inadequate in protecting our communities," said Lyndsay Moseley, who works on coal ash issues for the Sierra Club. "Common sense says it is time for change, the sooner the better."
More than 100 grassroots and national organizations from Kentucky to Indiana and New Mexico to Maryland are taking action today to send a strong message that delay is no longer acceptable. Several grassroots organizations, including West Virginia's Coal River Mountain Watch, Oklahoma's Local Environmental Action Demanded and Tennessee's Watauga Watershed Alliance among many others have sent letters to newspapers demanding that coal ash be regulated as a hazardous waste.
"We're sending a message to the White House and the polluters that, on behalf of millions of Americans, we will not stand for any further delay," said Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans. "If the polluters can take their message to the administration, then so can we."
On Dec. 22, 2008 over a billion pounds of coal ash sludge from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Power Plant burst through a dam near Harriman, Tenn. and swamped houses, filled rivers and covered 300 acres of land. There are 49 sites deemed "high-hazard" by EPA and 100 waste ponds larger than the pond that failed in Tennessee - in other words, the threat to human health and the environment from unsafe coal ash disposal needs immediate attention. Here are several other instances of coal ash contamination:
* In April 2000 residents in Town of Pines, Indiana noticed their drinking water wells tasted unusual. Evidently, the wells had been contaminated over the years by coal ash generated by a power plant owned and operated by Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO).
* In November 2007, Gambrills, Maryland residents settled for $54 million from Constellation Energy over contamination of their drinking water from billions of tons of coal ash into an unlined mine pit.
In March 2009, 400 residents filed a lawsuit against Virginia Dominion Power seeking $1 billion in damages for contaminating local drinking water supplies with coal ash used as fill in the construction of the Battlefield Golf Club.
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
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UN Disarmament Official Lays Out Path to Reverse 'Dangerous' Nuclear Trends
"Though we are living in a moment of increased confrontation and militarization, one fundamental truth remains unchanged: The only way to eliminate nuclear risk is to eliminate nuclear weapons."
Mar 09, 2023
The head of the United Nations disarmament division warned Thursday of the need for urgent global action to eliminate atomic weapons, especially during the current heightened tensions between the United States and Russia—the world's leading nuclear powers—over the latter's thermonuclear threats during its invasion of Ukraine.
Addressing attendees of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons' "ICAN Act On It" Forum in Oslo, Norway via a pre-recorded video message, United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu linked the concept of "humanitarian disarmament" with international agreements including the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Anti-Personnel Landmine Ban Convention, and the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
"It is clear that a desire to avoid the unspeakable human suffering caused by the use of nuclear weapons is a driving force for nuclear disarmament efforts," Nakamitsu said. "Such efforts are needed now more than ever."
"Since the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation just over one year ago, we have witnessed an increase in dangerous nuclear rhetoric," she noted. "There has been a further breakdown of trust among the two states with the world's largest nuclear arsenals. In the past weeks, we have seen the suspension of inspections under the last remaining treaty limiting the size of these arsenals."
"Nuclear risk is at the highest level since the depth of the Cold War," said Nakamitsu, who highlighted "five key measures that can be taken" to "reverse current dangerous trends":
- State parties to the TPNW should make headway in implementing their treaty and continue to forcefully advocate for its principles;
- States that have yet to sign or ratify the TPNW should make a serious study of the treaty that takes into account its articles, its normative value, and its operation to date;
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"Though we are living in a moment of increased confrontation and militarization, one fundamental truth remains unchanged: The only way to eliminate nuclear risk is to eliminate nuclear weapons," Nakamitsu concluded. "This remains the highest disarmament priority of the United Nations and we will continue to work with all member states and all other stakeholders to that end."
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As industry employees push for improvements to bipartisan railway safety legislation and reject efforts by rail companies to introduce new safety rules on their own, one public health advocacy group on Thursday called on the Biden administration to do everything in its power to make trains safer for workers and American communities.
Last month's train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio—which sent toxic chemicals into the environment as officials conducted a controlled release of the vinyl chloride that was carried by the train—was the result of successful lobbying by the rail industry against safety regulations, said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch.
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"Secretary Buttigieg and this administration must act immediately to reduce the risks of these horrific derailments by first reestablishing the commonsense rail freight safety standards implemented by [former President Barack] Obama and unconscionably rolled back by [former President Donald] Trump," said Hauter.
The Trump administration in 2018 rolled back regulations mandating the use of highly responsive electronic braking systems for trains carrying oil and other flammable materials.
A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that an overheated wheel bearing rather than the brake system was likely behind the derailment of the Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, but a number of other derailments in recent weeks have prompted calls for the regulations to be reinstated immediately.
On Thursday, just before the CEO of Norfolk Southern testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and apologized for the accident, another train owned by the company left the tracks in Alabama. CEO Alan Shaw was informed of the accident by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who said, "You may need to look into that."
On Wednesday, a train owned by freight company CSX derailed in Sandstone, West Virginia and released an "unknown" quantity of diesel fuel and oil into the New River.
"While the serious health impacts of the derailment in East Palestine have only just begun to emerge, we know that toxic spills like these can be devastating to communities and families for decades," said Hauter. "All trains carrying dangerous toxic chemicals should be classified as 'high-hazard flammable trains,' which would require more stringent safety requirements and notice to state and local officials of their contents."
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Questioned at a Senate hearing on the East Palestine disaster, Alan Shaw also wouldn't agree to end "precision-scheduled railroading," a Wall Street-led profit-maximizing approach that critics say endangers communities nationwide.
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Thursday's U.S. Senate hearing about the ongoing environmental and public health disaster in East Palestine, Ohio "did not go well" for Norfolk Southern president and CEO Alan Shaw, the progressive media outlet More Perfect Union declared.
Shaw refused to commit to providing workers with seven days of paid sick leave, ceasing stock buybacks, and abandoning Wall Street-endorsed policies that critics say contribute to the 1,500-plus derailments seen each year in the U.S., including Norfolk Southern's toxic crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border last month as well as a derailment that happened in Alabama just before the multimillionaire executive testified.
In remarks prepared for the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Shaw wrote, "I am deeply sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the people of East Palestine and surrounding communities, and I am determined to make it right."
But during the committee's hearing, Shaw refused to use the multiple opportunities he was given to publicly commit to enacting meaningful changes.
Noting that Norfolk Southern has recently rewarded wealthy investors with $10 billion in stock buybacks, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont asked Shaw if he could "tell the American people and your employees right now that... you will guarantee at least seven paid sick days to the 15,000 workers you employ."
Sanders acknowledged that Norfolk Southern recently agreed to provide up to a week of paid sick leave per year to roughly 3,000 track maintenance workers. However, he asked Shaw, "Will you make that commitment right now to your entire workforce?"
"I will commit to continuing to discuss with them important quality-of-life issues," Shaw responded.
Sanders told Shaw he sounds "like a politician" and reiterated his question, but the executive repeated his dodge.
Sanders, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, then told Shaw that he looks forward to discussing the matter further, hinting at a potential request to testify before the panel he leads.
Later during the hearing, Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon asked Shaw, "Will you pledge today that you will do no more stock buybacks until a raft of safety measures have been completed to reduce the risk of derailments and crashes in the future?"
Once again, Shaw refused to give a straight answer, saying that he will commit to "continuing to invest in safety." Merkley repeated his question, to no avail.
More Perfect Union has calculated that payouts to Norfolk Southern's shareholders surged by more than 4,500% over the past 20 years, from $101 million in stock repurchases and dividend bumps in 2002 to $4.7 billion in 2022.
In response to Merkely's inquiry, Shaw claimed that thanks to his company's safety investments, "the number of derailments, hazardous material releases, and personal injuries has declined" over time.
Not helping Shaw's case, a Norfolk Southern train careened off the tracks in Calhoun County, Alabama around 6:45 am ET on Thursday, about three hours before the hearing began. The rail giant was also responsible for other derailments last month in addition to the highly visible one in East Palestine. Moreover, a Norfolk Southern conductor was killed in a collision in Ohio early Tuesday.
More Perfect Union shared data showing that Norfolk Southern's accident rate grew faster than the industry average over the past decade and accused the CEO of lying about his company's safety record.
According to Railroad Workers United and others, industry-led deregulation and Wall Street-backed policies such as "precision-scheduled railroading" (PSR) have made the U.S. rail system more dangerous.
During Thursday's hearing, Sanders brought up PSR, which forces fewer workers to manage longer trains in less time.
The profit-maximizing practice championed by Wall Street has enabled Norfolk Southern to rake in billions of dollars while reducing the size of its workforce by nearly 40% over a recent six-year period, said Sanders, but that has come at the expense of safety.
"Will you make a commitment right now to the American people that you will lead the industry in ending this disastrous precision-scheduled railroading?"
Despite Sanders' request for a "yes or no" answer, Shaw danced around the question, saying that he has increased hiring since becoming CEO last May.
Sanders characterized the recent uptick in hiring as an attempt to recover from a preceding round of mass layoffs and asked once again if Shaw "will lead the industry in doing away with" the PSR model that was "imposed" by profit-hungry Wall Street actors.
Shaw, however, refused to commit to such a change.
Thursday's hearing comes two days after the National Transportation Safety Board—which is already probing the causes of the East Palestine disaster—announced a "special investigation" into Norfolk Southern's "organization and safety culture."
It also comes less than a month after Shaw angered East Palestine residents by skipping a town hall where people expressed their concerns over the long-term consequences of air pollution and groundwater contamination stemming from the release and burnoff of carcinogenic chemicals, a move that was made to avoid a catastrophic explosion.
Following the hearing on Capitol Hill, Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter said in a statement that "Shaw's apology today rings hollow," coming as it did "after years spent pushing to roll back the very sorts of safety regulations that would have prevented an accident like this."
"If Norfolk Southern had real concern for the safety of the countless communities like East Palestine through which their trains run, they would be calling for more safety measures for the industry," said Hauter. "Instead they offer voluntary steps that can easily be undone, prioritizing profit margins over people."
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