By Cassie Diltz, CG Science

Salt is used to clear sidewalks of seasonal snowfall. Photo by Elizabeth Linares

As the winter snow melts away, those living in the City of Athens might notice something different covering the roads. Instead of local coal ash used for icy roads this winter season, the city started using a new grit and salt mixture after a series of tests showed that coal ash contains high levels of arsenic. The use of this potentially hazardous material led to public unrest and political action.

Residents and city council members had reason for concern. Coal ash contains trace metals and contaminants, including arsenic, cadmium and copper. Cadmium poisoning affects the lungs, brain and liver, while copper and zinc contain low levels of radiation.  These elements are not only harmful to humans but to local animal and plant life as well.

The coal ash from Athens’ coal-burning power plant was tested as a dry material last February by Microbac Laboratories, Inc, and went through several tests, including a leaching process, which is used to see if toxins will leach out of certain matter. Abnormal levels of arsenic were discovered in the coal ash, though the element did not leach out under laboratory conditions. However, the City of Athens decided to err on the side of caution.

Because of these test results, community members and Athens City Council decided to search for an alternative to coal ash.

“It’s our responsibility to take the precautionary principle,” said Elahu Gosney, an at-large representative for Athens City Council.

Local citizens encouraged city officials to find a coal ash substitute.

“Residents were concerned about the toxicity of it. It’s really nasty black stuff that gets ground up on the street. People drag it into their houses and it gets on their pets,” Gosney said.

Athens has used 1,000-1,500 tons of coal ash each year until it was decided to make the shift. This winter, to replace the coal ash, the city has used a similar quantity of a small grit called Number 9, which is slightly larger than sand but smaller than a pea. The grit is obtained from quarries or excavated from the Hocking River and, like coal ash, is paired with about 1,200 tons of salt to keep Athens’ road conditions drivable.

Little research has been done on the environmental impacts of the new alternative. There is some concern about the weight of the material because it can clog storm systems. The mixture ends up on the sides of the roads where it gradually builds up. In some areas, it will simply wash away, but in other areas where the material accumulates Athens city workers will clean up Number 9 with a street cleaner and take it to the landfill.

One disadvantage of the substitute for coal ash is that it comes with a higher cost to city taxpayers.

“The coal ash was free,” said Andy Stone, city engineer and director of Public Works.

Stone pointed to the switch as the cause of costs incurred to the city’s taxpayers, but he noted that Athens had spoken: moving away from coal ash needed to happen.

“The mayor directed me to do it and there were a number of people in the community that were concerned.  It’s what I do. I’m a public servant. It’s the will of people so it must be done,” Stone said.

The environmental threats posed by coal ash extend beyond its impact on humans.

Many animals consume melting snow, and ingesting the toxins in the snow can have dangerous effects, said Natalie Kruse, assistant professor in Environmental Studies at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.

“It’s probably not the nastiest stuff you’ve ever put on the road, but it’s not something you want plants and animals to use as their source of water,” Kruse said.

Once chemicals from the ash get into the soil, it can accumulate there for long periods of time. Plants take in chemicals from the soil, and eventually the metals enter the food chain. Some metals are worse than others. Levels of pH, a measurement used to express the acidity or alkalinity of water, determine what degree of harm the metals can cause, and these levels depend on current soil conditions.

“It can build up in the soil and get into the plants. It’s possible the chemicals are part of the system now,” said Jared Deforest, assistant professor in soil bio-geo-chemistry at Ohio University.

Kruse says the coal ash should be regulated by the EPA, and is very pleased that the City has replaced it with a less harmful substitute, despite the fact that Number 9 is also unregulated.

Deforest argues that the use of salt is worse than the chemicals of local coal ash. Sodium affects plants’ capacity to hold water and can also cause salt burn, a chemical process that occurs when salt is added to soil. The salt can displace other important nutrients in the soil, such as calcium and potassium, causing soil fertility to decrease over time.

Deforest agrees with the City’s decision to use an alternative to coal ash: “When it comes to human health, I don’t want to breathe in the particulate matter of that coal ash.”

What is the fate of the coal ash no longer spread across Athens pavement?  It is picked up by other townships in Athens County, said OU Sustainability Coordinator Sonia Marcus.

The City of Athens continues to search for the best way to keep streets drivable while also free of heavy metals. For the time being, Athens citizens have shown that they are willing to pay monetary costs to mitigate long-term environmental hazards.

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Bottoms Up: The Dirt on Coal Ash: this story was written by Jessica Blakely and Katherine Bercik for an E.W. Scripps School of Journalism course titled Environmental and Science Journalism.