Food friendly? The EPA says waste from coal plants can be used to grow crops.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—When it comes to coal ash, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is having a bit of an identity crisis. One part of the agency wants the heavy metal–laced by-product of burning coal to be treated as hazardous waste. But others in the agency, and in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), want farmers to grow your salad in it. "EPA is not an homogenous organization," says Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). "It is a complex organization where the right often does not know or opposes what the left is doing." In this case, the solid waste arm of EPA is pushing for maximum reuse of coal ash, while the EPA'S water, toxic substances, and health staff are excluded from the decision.

THE DETAILS: After a disastrous release of coal ash in Tennessee that resulted in heavy metal contamination and massive fish kills in 2008, the EPA stated it would classify coal ash as a hazardous substance. But that has yet to happen. Meanwhile, other sectors of the EPA and USDA are urging farmers to continue to use coal ash as a soil amendment in fields where they grow food crops, even though there hasn't been ample research to prove this process is safe, according to PEER. "For years we have been told that coal ash needs to be scrubbed from coal-fired energy plants to prevent it from polluting our air," says Jeff Moyer, chairman of the National Organic Standards Board and farm manager at the Rodale Institute. "Now we’re being told that this material has been added to our food production lands and farms, and that this practice is not only fine but should be expanded. I have great concerns." Coal ash often contains heavy metals, which can accumulate in some plants, he says. The substance is also used in building and road materials, some carpet backings, and countertops.