The coal ash saga continues. Yesterday, the NYTimes.com Freakonomics blog featured a photographer's account of viewing the spill along with a handful of stunning —and scary— aerial photos of the disaster. Even scarier, a commenter on the post linked to this 2007 Scientific American article which claims that coal ash is more radioactive than nuclear waste:
At issue is coal's content of uranium and thorium, both radioactive elements. They occur in such trace amounts in natural, or "whole," coal that they aren't a problem. But when coal is burned into fly ash, uranium and thorium are concentrated at up to 10 times their original levels.
John Hawbaker
Irving Smith on Jan. 9, 2009
If this is so, could thorium be separated for use in modernized nuclear power plants?
Micah on Jan. 27, 2009
Here is some more info about the harmful effects of coal and the search for it.
Micah on Jan. 27, 2009
I don't know why the link didn't work. Here it is again.
www.lookoutdoornews.com/voices/