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Environmentalists Rattled by Radioactive Risks of Toxic Coal Ash

Inside Climate News · By Lee Hedgepeth · last updated
The EPA now recognizes the risks of gamma radiation from radium in coal ash, but many states aren’t even sure where the toxic waste has been used. In Alabama, environmental regulators say they do not track so-called ‘beneficial’ uses of coal ash.

By Lee Hedgepeth

When the wind blows the wrong direction, Esther Calhoun can smell it. 

Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy

State of Play

Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates. 

Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.

The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21). 

Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29

 

More informationabout Climate diplomacy