The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
October 15, 2009

Report: Coal Cleanup Technology Leads to Unfettered Water Pollution
-------------------------------------------------------------------



And the New York Times has revealed that environmental cleanup
technology at dozens of US coal factories has often led to the
contamination of local water supplies. Coal plants that have installed
“scrubbers” to filter air emissions have dumped hundreds of thousands of
gallons of water pollution into local rivers and streams. Only one out
of forty-three power plants and electric utilities has been required to
limit dumping of the toxin barium, which has been linked to heart
problems and other organ diseases. Even when emissions have been
regulated, 90 percent of plants that violated the Clean Water Act since
2004 have escaped penalties or fines.



.