(KWQC) – An Iowa House bill could ban coal plant operators and coal ash landfills from discharging toxic pollutants into waterways by 2029.
Coal-fired power plants leave behind wastewater after generating electricity, and scientists say it could end up in drinking water supplies.
Coal ash contains heavy metals including arsenic, mercury, and lead — toxins that can cause serious health effects, including cancer and developmental disabilities, even at low levels of exposure.
Health impacts documented
“If it is a river, we tend to have a lot of communities along our waterways that use the river or sort of groundwater that’s influenced by the rivers, their drinking water supply. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that these discharges could have impacts on the quality or the chemistry of the drinking water source,” said David Swartney, professor of Environmental Engineering and Chemistry at the University of Iowa, where he also directs the Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination…