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http://vxvxvx.vxraicom/fact-check,is'duke-teUing'thetruth'about'toxicity' 14ZOOUZO/ NEWS NOTES: It's worth noting that environmental advocates recently withdrew ostudy Llaimingjhat fish from a lake near a coal ash vit were unsafe to eat after the company raised questions about the science involved. Also of note, the Duke fact sheets says, "The Environmental Protection Agency has evaluated coal ash extensively and has repeatedly determined that it is not a hazardous waste." That may change as soon asFriday, when the EPA is expected to issue coal ash. The federal agency could rule that hazardous material rules apply to coal ash or impose reotrictionomore similar 0o household waste. SOURCING: Duke's one-page fact sheet io accompanied bvoono'pogoliotofro[eron000.Somooro references 0o government reports detailing the materials in coal ash, the toxicological proGl of arsenic or o handy explainer from a West Virginia scientist putting the measures of parts per million..and..p�Lr� billion into layman's language. Most of the resources in this group are cited oo providing numerical and scientific values for the obooL However, there are four names that come up several times on the reference list and are used toback up the sheet's conclusions drawn from the numbers: Lisa Bradley, John Ward, EPRI and ACAA. E98listhe Electric Power Research Institute, on industry-funded think tank of which Duke isomember. The ACAAiothe American Coal Ash Association, on industry bode group that promotes "the management and use of coal combustion prodoot ."Tboro'onoUhincxrong,poroo,nddhindoobyUdnk tanks, but it's important to keep in mind that they come to the table with o particular point ofview. Groups that are in the business of promoting energy producers and the beneficial uses of coal ash are not likely to highlight the potential health and environmental problems associated with the nno1odol. Bradley is for AECOM, o company that, among other things, provides planning and engineering services 0o the energy industry. She io also o member of the ACAA'o executive committee. Ward ioo marketing, communications and public affairs consultant who has worked for several energy- related boobn00000bofxo starting his own consulting company. He also boodo Citizens for Recycling E�st, a Denver-based group that advocates for recycling coal ash. Ward's name appears in the transcripts of several hearings the EPA held over the past two years examining whether coal ash should bo designated 000 hazardous waste. While both Bradley and Ward obviously have o good deal of background related 0o energy and coal ash, their ties to industry are not immediately clear in the citations on the Duke fact sheet. "[r. Bradley is an Ph.D., regarded uy one of the nation's leading experts in coal ash toxicity. She offers deep expertise in discussing the i0000," Duke's Sheehan said when asked about Bradley's work and affiliations. Sheehan pointed to several articles Bradley had written, including one for The Air and Waste Association. She also pointed out that Bradley had been appointed hu the National Coal Council bviT.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. ErnomiMoniz. SCIENCE: To boln ovoloo10 the fact oboot, gNCCophol turned to Gerald LeBlanc, professor and program director at North Carolina State University's Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, and Avner Vengosh, a professor at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment who has oodvolv studied coal oob. \/ongoob'o latest research opooiGoollv deals with determinim4 whether contamination comes from a particular coal ash source or not.