Using bottom ash
League of Women Voters forum examines issueBy JOAN JOSEPHSON OBSERVER Staff Writer
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Diane Hofner of Portland has been reaching out to anyone who will listen to her concerns about the use of bottom ash produced by the NRG plant in Dunkirk.
She has formed a group known as CROP-PLUS, which stands for Concerned Residents of Portland and People Like Us, who agree with her stand about the use of bottom ash.
At a speech given at the League of Women Voters meeting at the Shorewood Country Club, she said there are currently 12 CROP members.
"I hope to get a number more to sign up, once I have finished with my findings about bottom ash," she said.
In her speech, Hofner said Portland, Pomfret, Arkwright and Ripley are among the local municipalities who use bottom ash for snow and ice control. These municipalities obtain the bottom ash free of charge, and according to Portland officials, this material saves on the highway department's expenses.
Without the use of bottom ash, they have said, the town's tax rate would have to be increased 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
So far, Hofner has not been able to prove there is any causal link between bottom ash and health or environmental issues. But, that's not because she hasn't been trying.
She has been in contact with the local Health Department, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and a host of state and federal officials. What she wants are tests done on the bottom ash to determine if, in fact, it is harmful to humans and the world they live in.
Right now, she says, there are limited regulations in place to control the use of bottom ash.
"It has been given a beneficial use determination as a traction agent and currently, there are 67 bottom ash dump sites across the country that are contaminating water supplies," Hofner claimed.
These bottom ash dumps could threaten human health, she further states.
She wants to educate decision makers in face to face meetings. To do this, she plans to travel to Washington, D.C. and meet with appropriate officials.
But, she didn't have to go to Washington to find someone who understands her concerns. That person is Dr. Jack Berkley, the chairperson of Geosciences Department at SUNY Fredonia.
In a power point presentation, he told the Shorewood audience that he wasn't going to disparage coal plants like NRG in Dunkirk. What he did do was provide an outline of how coal is formed, which chemicals make it up and the effects it creates when it is burned.
"I am concerned about the standards for bottom ash because, according to county and state records, there are no limits," he said.
In tests he conducted or had conducted on bottom ash that was collected in Portland, Berkley said mercury exceeded the limits with cadmium and arsenic not far behind. Chromium, a known carcinogen, has also been found in bottom ash.
"I can't prove the health implications associated with bottom ash but I believe these conditions could be improved with the safe disposal of it," Hofner said.
She advised the audience to "pay attention and be aware."
