Coal Power in The United States - Environmental Impacts

Environmental Impacts

In the United States, three coal-fired power plants reported the largest toxic air releases in 2001:

• CP&L Roxboro Steam Electric Plant in Semora, North Carolina. The four-unit, 2,462 megawatt facility is one of the largest power plants in the United States.
• Reliant Energy's Keystone Power Plant in Shelocta, Pennsylvania.
• Georgia Power Bowen Steam Electric Generating Plant in Cartersville, Georgia.

The Environmental Protection Agency classified the 44 sites as potential hazards to communities, which means the waste sites could cause death and significant property damage if an event such as a storm, a terrorist attack or a structural failure caused a spill. They estimate that about 300 dry landfills and wet storage ponds are used around the country to store ash from coal-fired power plants. The storage facilities hold the noncombustible ingredients of coal and the ash trapped by equipment designed to reduce air pollution.