Comment submitted by Anne Mellinger-Birdsong

Coal combustion residuals, or coal ash, are the residual left behind when coal power plants burn coal to produce electricity. The coal ash standards from 2105 and 2024 where established to protect health. EPA reviewed hundreds of scientific studies documenting health harm as part of the process of creating these standards. EPA's main mission is to protect human health. The 2015 and 2024 coal ash standards do just that. Coal ash contains many heavy metals, including mercury, lead, thallium, arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, selenium radium and boron. Mercury and lead cause cognitive deficits and neurodevelopmental delay in children. There is no safe level of exposure to either of these heavy metals for children. Some of these heavy metals are carcinogenic, others damage the kidneys, heart, liver, and other organs. Children, who are one of the most vulnerable groups from pollution exposure, are especially vulnerable to mercury, lead, and other heavy metals in coal ash. This proposal will harm children's health. In Georgia where I live, over 2/3 of our rivers and large public lakes have fish consumption advisories for people who fish to limit how much fish they eat, due to contamination with mercury from coal power plants. Several lakes have DO NOT EAT advisories due to contamination with thallium from coal power plants. We must clean up the coal ash residuals in a way that doesn't contaminate groundwater, rivers, or cause air pollution. I am a pediatrician who specializes in environmental health. This proposal will damage health, and I strongly oppose it.