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GalleryImages from Arroyo Barril, Samana Region, Dominican Republic. The hill and beach on Samana Bay where the toxic coal ash was dumped illegally in 2003 and 2004.Today, it's a beautiful beach off a green sloping hill in Arroyo Barril. But looks can be deceiving. To a Web visitor the long view of the beach and hill with its verdant growth appears to have recovered from the illegal dumping of one hundred million pounds of toxic coal ash in 2003 and 2004. But that toxic material remains just below the surface; in many places it's clearly visible in many forms, from big rocks to small pebbles and flat compacted flakes. When it first was illegally deposited on the beach the coal ash waste was front loaded off dump trucks and then left in giant gray piles on the hill. Toxic coal ash that was not blown into the village or surrounding areas was carried away by rain and surface water, its chemicals making their way into the groundwater or down to the ocean. In a Grand Canyon-esque way the rivulets created craters and valleys among the tons of toxic ash. So today what looks like a green sloping hill down to the bay in Arroyo Barril remains an environmental crime scene in disguise.
» View more photos from the toxic coal ash dump site Victims of Toxic Coal Ash dumping by AES Corporation in 2003 and 2004Two children survived severe birth defects traced to toxic chemicals in the illegally dumped coal ash waste. First, it leached into the environment, then accumulated in the bones of child-bearing women. A boy was born without arms. Another boy had had to endure major surgery when, at birth, his digestive system was delivered outside his body. Two other children died shortly after birth, one a two-headed Siamese twin. Another child whose severe cranial deformities were discovered in utero had to be aborted. Well before catastrophic birth defects began to appear, child bearing-age women in the Arroyo Barril area began to suffer a significant increase in miscarriages. And before that, almost immediately after the toxic coal ash was dumped illegally, residents of all ages developed acute respiratory and skin problems, many of which continue today. Medical experts have stated that the dark lesions tattooed on many residents skin display the telltale signs of arsenic exposure.
» View more photos of the victims of toxic coal ash waste in the Dominican Republic. The village of Arroyo Barril, Samana, Dominican Republic and its people.The sign to Samana says, "Welcome," but 100 million pounds of toxic coal ash was not invited and its health-damaging legacy continues today. The proud residents of Arroyo Barril have no electricity. They eke out a living. Many grow their own vegetables. Unfortunately, their crops are growing in soil laced with air-blown toxic coal ash dust and its heavy metal components. Today, approximately six years after the illegal dumping, the toxic coal ash may lie just beneath the surface. Animals raised for milk or eating may rip up grass or other plant life to eat and dirt is attached to it. Chickens scratch the ground. Residents who are breathing in the toxic coal ash dust also ingest the toxic metals from the coal ash waste that has gotten into the food chain. Samana Bay has always been a fishing resource for the residents of Arroyo Barril. After the massive toxic coal ash dumping the waste rolled, blew or was carried into the edge of the bay, killing fish and injuring at least one fisherman who had the misfortune to fish in the chemical-laced water.
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