AES Corporation illegally dumped 100 million pounds of toxic coal as on a pristine beach in the Dominican Republic. After acute health problems came horrible birth defects, Complaint alleges.

Birth Defects from Illegally Dumped Toxic Coal Ash

An Environmental Crime Scene

A green hillside gently slopes down to Samana Bay in the Dominican Republic. For generations it had been a local gathering place where proud and poor families in the rural village of Arroyo Barril launched their fishing boats, enjoyed land and water recreation.

Map of the Islands

The Caribbean. Toxic coal ash burned in AES Corporation's Guayama power plant in Puerto Rico, instead of being properly disposed in a landfill, was dumped onto pristine beaches in Arroyo Barril and Manzanillo in the Dominican Republic in 2003 and 2004.

Toxic Chemicals in Coal Ash Waste

When coal is burned to produce electric power the remaining ash residue contains a witch's brew of toxic chemicals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") is currently reviewing its position on coal ash waste and its effect on humans. Current guidance calls for coal burning waste disposal in clay-lined landfills to protect groundwater from becoming contaminated.

Workers who come into contact with the ash before or after it is mixed with liquid (and sometimes pressed into so-called "rock ash") protect themselves with respirators, face masks, gloves and protective apparel.

But residents of Arroyo Barril and Samana Province, whose simple houses are open to prevailing winds, had no such protections as they went about their daily activities. Millions of pounds of the material illegally dumped on their beach reached everywhere.

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But then, beginning in 2003, this pristine hill became an environmental crime scene at the hands of AES Corporation, ("AES") a multi-national, Arlington, Virginia-based power generating conglomerate with plants in 29 countries, according to a lawsuit recently filed by the victims.

The residents allege in their complaint that AES illegally dumped approximately 100 million pounds of toxic coal ash waste onto the Arroyo Barril beach in the island's northeast, and approximately 60 million pounds onto a beach off Manzanillo Bay in the Dominican Republic's northwest.

This toxic coal ash had been generated by AES's coal-burning plant in Guayama, Puerto Rico. When Puerto Rico power authorities granted permission for AES to generate electricity on the island the power company was required to remove its coal ash waste from the island. Instead of transporting it to landfills with the proper clay linings as recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency they put it on barges and dumped it onto pristine Dominican Republic beaches.

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A pristine hill in the Dominican Republic was turned into an environmental crime scene when approximately 100 million pounds of toxic coal ash was dumped on the hill and beach. Acute and chronic medical conditions ensued. Now horrible birth defects are being traced to the heavy metals in the coal ash, according to a Complaint filed November 4, 2009 in Delaware Superior Court.