Coal Ash Stories – Chicago

Monday, June 29, 7pm Community Forum

Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ
615 West Wellington Avenue, Chicago

Organized by: Eco-Justice Collaborative
Co-Sponsored by: The Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club, Prairie Rivers Network, and Working Films

Coal ash is the waste material left after coal is burned. It contains arsenic, mercury, lead, and over a dozen other heavy metals, many of them toxic.

Did you know that Illinois generates over 4.4 million tons of coal ash every year and imports ash from six states, storing it at over 90 sites across the state? A 2009 study by the Illinois EPA found groundwater contamination at every site tested. This includes coal ash ponds associated with power plants in Joliet and Waukegan.  Without proper management, these contaminants can pollute waterways, groundwater, drinking water, and the air.

Join us on Monday, June 29, as we screen five short videos that expose public health concerns, related policy, and community responses to this environmental injustice. Talk with issue experts,including journalist and film director Rhiannon Fionn and Cindy Skrukrud, Clean Water Advocate for the Sierra Club. Learn what you can do to call on the Illinois EPA to create strong rules for the handling and disposal of coal ash.

Download a printable flier
Coal Ash Stories Forum 6-29, WAUCC

Can’t make this event?  Click here for information on the June 25 event in central Illinois!