Washington, DC: As the Environmental Protection Agency continues a series of hearings across the country on how to regulate toxic coal ash, the Sierra Club is launching new efforts to educate and engage citizens, many of whom are unaware that they may live near a toxic coal ash site.
The Sierra Club's new Facebook application, the Toxic Coal Ash Site Locator, seeks to remedy that problem, allowing you to find out how close you, your friends and family live to these toxic dumps.
Left over after coal is burned, coal ash contains a dangerous mix of arsenic, mercury, lead and other pollution, pollution known to cause cancer and other serious illnesses. Living near some coal ash sites can be more dangerous than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
Already hundreds of residents from 16 states have traveled to hearings held in Virginia, Colorado, and Texas to speak out against this toxic threat. College students, tribal members, faith leaders, physicians and moms have been among those to voice their support for strong protections from dangerous coal ash.
Buses and carpools of concerned citizens from other parts of the country are expected at the EPA's remaining hearings. The Sierra Club will be arranging flights over massive coal ash dumps, holding rallies and even a human reenactment of the tragic coal ash disaster in Tennessee that turned the nation's attention to the problem of coal ash.
Print ads highlighting the cost of inaction on our children's future will run in several of the hearing cities including the Denver, Dallas, Charlotte and Pittsburgh. The print ads are part of an ongoing advertising campaign which also includes online ads on sites like Facebook, Red, Green and Blue, and Science Daily, online videos and a radio tour of the affected states.
Remaining hearings include:
- Charlotte, NC on September 14
- Chicago, IL on September 16
- Pittsburgh, PA on September 21
- Louisville, KY on September 28
- Knoxville, TN, week of October 25
For details visit www.sierraclub.org/coalash
Contact:
Virginia Cramer, 804-225-9113 x 102
