Coal ash has been identified as a serious health problem for people living around ash ponds or coal fired energy plants. People in 34 states who live near 210 coal ash lagoons or landfills with insufficient lining have a higher risk of cancer and other diseases from contaminants in their drinking water. There are 21 states that have 5 or more coal ash landfills near the coal fired power plants.

The EPA withheld documentation since 2002 by the order of George Bush, which the information was released this year by the new administration, that outlined detailed information describing toxic releases from these facilities to nearby water systems, and information on how some contaminants accumulate in fish and deer and can harm the health of people who hunt and fish.

People who lived near the more problem sites have a 1 in 50 chance of developing cancer from their drinking water due to the arsenic levels.

The highest risks of people are the ones who are living near ash ponds with no pond liners and get their water from wells.

Ash ponds also increase the risk to people's liver and other organs by exposure to metals as cadmium, cobalt and lead, and other pollutants.

The EPA has neglected to adequately inform the public of the risks associated with ash ponds by putting out a study that is far to technical for the average person to understand. The EPA has also failed in properly listing the correct number of ash ponds in the country, where as there are over 600 land fills across the country, but the EPA has decided only to list 210, a complete failure for a federal department who's sole purpose is to protect the citizens of America from toxic exposure and to protect the environment. The Bush administration's only priority was to protect the pocketbooks of his Republican corporate friends in the coal industry.

Coal-fired power plants annually dispose of approximately 100 million tons of ash and sludge scrubbed out of their emissions. The highest health risks are from water contamination from unlined ponds where coal ash and other waste products from coal are mixed forming a lethal mixture. Ponds lined with clay are insufficient in stopping leakage from the ponds adding to the serious health issues for people as well as animals in the area.

The Bush administration with held data from the EPA study and when the material was released in 2007 the Bush Administration blacked out the findings. The Bush Administration also denied the EPA's request to release the information back in 2002.

Under our new President the Obama administration and a new director of the EPA there will be new regulations placed on the coal ash sites and these sites will be heavily monitored to prevent spills and future contamination to the water and environment.