Groups say South Carolina has high-risk ash dumps

South Carolina has at least five "high risk" coal ash dump sites that may pose health dangers, two environmental watchdog groups say.

The Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice say they recently obtained documents about ash dump sites in South Carolina and other states.

The groups said that the federal government under the Bush administration had long refused to disclose this data, which shows that people living near ash landfills and ponds have "disturbingly high cancer" risks.

Power companies dump massive volumes of ash from coal-fired power plants into ponds and landfills.

"Toxic Ash," a Post and Courier Watchdog report last year, showed that several landfills and ponds in South Carolina are contaminating groundwater with arsenic and other toxic chemicals.

Some of the more serious groundwater contamination issues involve ponds and landfills at SCE&G's Wateree, Urquhart and Canadys power plants, Santee Cooper's Grainger plants and a coal plant at the federal government's Savannah River site, the newspaper report showed.

The two environmental groups haven't yet identified five sites in South Carolina that they allege pose high risks. The groups plan to unveil their findings Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C.

Reach Tony Bartelme at 937-5554 or tbartelme@postandcourier.com.