On Monday, October 31st, a large coal ash pile slid into Lake Michigan as the result of a bluff failure. The disaster occurred at WE Energies (Wisconsin Energies) plant in Oak Creek, Wisconsin near Milwaukee. Doug Cherkauer, a geo-sciences professor at UW-Milwaukee, stated that water was a main factor in the bluff failure because coal ash is less compact and less stable than the natural clay rich soils found in the area. Water caused an area between the coal ash pile and the clay rich soil to become very lubricated which lead to a bluff failure that sent tons of coal ash into Lake Michigan. Drinking water from Lake Michigan is used by 10 million residents who live along the lake's borders. A spokesman for WE Energies said there is no need to worry because coal ash is a non-hazardous material. However, according to the Natural Resource Council and the EPA, coal ash contains 24 known pollutants. These pollutants include arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead and mercury just to name a few. A study conducted by the EPA on residents living near unlined ash ponds showed that these residents have a high risk of getting cancer due to aresenic contamination. Taking an engineering paradigm approach towards this issue I would say that coal mines should have more restrictions placed on them regarding their ash piles and structures should be built that can properly house coal ash to reduce the risk of contaminated drinking water.
http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/
http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2011/11/clean-wisconsin-disputes-we-energy-on.html
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