燃媒发电厂煤灰处理引发争议

Menne says the new landfill would have protection systems the current ponds lack. It would be double-lined to protect groundwater, and have a berm around it - about as high as a two-story building - to keep floodwaters out.

门尼说，新的掩埋场将增加现在这两个池塘没有的保护系统，比如双层防渗层，以保护地下水，还有四周两层楼高的护堤，防止掩埋场内的积水流出。

"And then it has what’s referred to as a leachate collection system which is a water collection system," says Menne. "Any water that would percolate through the material is collected and sent back to the plant to be used for process water."

他说：“另外，还有截留渗水的系统，就和储水设施一样，收集渗出的水，送回工厂作为工业用水。”

Even with all the new safety precautions, many area residents are worried about all that ash, and what’s in it: toxic elements like arsenic, chromium, and lead, which can cause cancer, developmental problems, and other serious health issues.

尽管有这些安全设施，很多当地居民还是担心煤灰问题。因为煤灰里的有毒物质，例如砷、铬和铅，会导致癌症、发育不良，和其它严重健康问题。

They’re afraid those hazardous substances could wind up in groundwater or the Missouri River, and contaminate area drinking water supplies. They’re also concerned about property values, and increased truck traffic.

他们害怕，这些有害物质会渗入地下水和密苏里河，污染这个地区的饮水系统。他们还担心房地产价格因此跌落，以及日益增加的卡车流量。

The Labadie book club ladies, who first found out about Ameren’s landfill plans, got organized, and gave themselves a name - the Labadie Environmental Organization - which now has close to 400 members.

还记得妇女读书会的女士们吗？她们已经组织起来，为读书会取了名字，叫作“拉巴迪环保组织。”目前这个组织有将近400名成员。

One of them is Labadie resident Petra Haynes. She hopes Ameren will, as she puts it, "do the right thing" and not build a landfill in the floodplain.

成员之一是当地居民裴特拉·海恩斯。她希望阿莫林公司做“正确的事”，而不是在河滩上建掩埋场。

"We really firmly believe that there has to be a better, safer location," she says. "We would like Ameren to really consider the safety and well-being of their customers, rather than the bottom line."

海恩斯说：“我们坚信，一定有一个更好的、更安全的地点做煤灰掩埋场地。我们希望阿莫林公司真正考虑客户的福利，而不是只顾公司赚钱。”

She and other area residents have been voicing their concerns at public hearings with the local county board of commissioners. The board is trying to decide whether to change county zoning regulations to allow utility waste landfills like Ameren’s.

海恩斯和其他居民们都在拉巴迪镇所属的弗兰克林县公听会上提出了他们的关切。县政府正在考虑是否改变涉及阿莫林公司等企业掩埋工业废料的土地区划法。

Presiding Commissioner John Griesheimer says he understands why people don’t want a landfill in the floodplain.

县委会主席约翰·格里斯海默说，他了解人们为什么不希望在河滩地上建掩埋场。

"But the bottom line is we have to put it somewhere. To be opposed to it, and have an alternative is one thing, but to be just opposed to it without giving us another option here, that’s another matter, and that’s what’s hard for everybody to do."

他说：“问题是总得有一个地方处理废料。反对这个计划、并提出一个替代方案是一回事，但是如果只是反对却又提不出其它选择，就是另一回事了。这就是大家的难处。”

Griesheimer says a final decision on the county’s landfill regulations is still months away.

格里斯海默说，就县里废料掩埋规定做出最后决定，还要经过几个月的努力。