'Generational poisoning': America's fastest-growing suburb at center of heated coal ash debate
As the EPA evaluates the risk of coal contamination in around Mooresville, newly obtained state environmental records identify additional coal ash locations.
The town of Mooresville, considered the fastest-growing suburb in America, has become the epicenter of an environmental and public health debate over the extent of coal ash contamination.
As concerns grow, newly obtained state environmental records identify additional and previously undisclosed coal ash sites, including smaller ones located throughout the Charlotte area.
There are an additional 24 sites that did not have specific addresses and therefore could not be mapped. You can view those and all the entries on the complete database here.
Coal ash at day care WCNC findings
Coal ash is a coal-burning byproduct that contains known carcinogens, yet a WCNC Charlotte investigation found children at a Mooresville day care played on top of the mixture every day without their parents' knowledge.
Soil samples collected by WCNC Charlotte near Tutor Time of Mooresville showed unacceptable levels of arsenic and radioactivity. As a result of WCNC Charlotte’s reporting, the day care has planned a complete playground renovation to ensure the safety and security of children and staff and peace of mind for families.
WCNC Charlotte’s six-month investigation identified coal ash, which includes a "cocktail of toxic elements," buried underground across North Carolina, including under and near the most vulnerable. This has prompted scientists, advocates and parents to demand local, state and federal action.
In response to growing concerns, parents and attorneys have called on the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the risk in and around Mooresville. A spokesperson, in recent days, said the EPA is still currently evaluating those requests to determine "what, if any, further action may be needed."
Coal ash at elementary school EPA evaluation
In November, the federal agency told a Rock Springs Elementary School parent in nearby Denver, North Carolina the EPA was also evaluating the coal ash risk there. State environmental records show coal ash is at that site somewhere. Duke Energy said a small amount of “bottom ash” was used as truck access drive, but most was what’s called “flowable fill;” a mixture blended in cement and “permanently encased.” The utility said the EPA has studied the safety of using coal ash in concrete and found it meets benchmarks for the protection of human health.
While Lincoln County Schools hasn’t said much publicly about the Rock Springs site, a concerned parent shared a recent message from the school’s principal with WCNC Charlotte that reads, in part, “There is no coal ash under our buildings. There is no coal ash under our playground.”
Where did the ash come from? Duke Energy's history
Duke Energy (then Duke Power) legally sold coal ash to builders who needed cheap fill dirt decades ago. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, people could also pick it up by the truckload and bring it home. The utility said it followed regulations at the time that “set out how ash could be used in ways that are safe for people and the environment.” Duke Energy said property owners are responsible for maintenance of these so-called structural fills and ensuring they’re in compliance with state regulations.
The utility has long downplayed risks associated with coal ash. A spokesperson told WCNC Charlotte the mere presence of “trace amounts” of arsenic in coal ash does not equate to a risk to human health or the environment, adding “all trace elements in coal ash combined, including arsenic and radium, comprise less than 1% of coal ash.”
Scientists respond Their findings
Despite that stance, multiple scientists have expressed fears about long-term health impacts tied to coal ash exposure, including cancers. Duke University Distinguished Professor Dr. Avner Vengosh warned, unlike regular soil, coal ash can easily become airborne, especially when it's closer to the surface. He and others worry a child could inhale a tiny particle or ingest coal ash while playing in the dirt and suffer health problems, including cancers, years and even decades down the road. Not only that, they fear the mixture of dozens of "contaminants" could result in an even more severe impact, especially for the most vulnerable.
Dr. Norman Kleiman is a radiation expert at Columbia University. He shares concerns about kids playing on or digging in dirt that contains coal ash.
"My main concern is an ingestion or inhalation risk from playing outside in the dirt," he told WCNC Charlotte. "I think that is the most important point to be made to concerned parents, caregivers and public officials."
Health concerns Parent's agony
Former Tutor Time of Mooresville employee Jennifer Apap has agonized over her son's health for months, only to recently find out the day care he used to attend a decade ago was built on top of coal ash. That lack of potentially pertinent information is especially problematic considering Declan's medical history following his time at Tutor Time of Mooresville, which includes gastrointestinal issues, asthma, ADHD, a heart murmur and a blood clot in his brain that left him hospitalized and left his parents with lingering questions about the cause.
"It's been six months of this guessing game," Apap said. "Deep down, we want to know why? Like, what happened? What caused this? It's the worst feeling and you just want to fix it."
Medical records show doctors think a recent bout with the flu coupled with a genetic mutation triggered Declan's hospitalization, which followed headaches and two emergency room visits. His parents can't say with any certainty if coal ash has had any negative health impact on him, but they are outraged the day care never disclosed that he regularly played above coal ash and that his mom was potentially exposed to it as well.
"We were never told anything," Apap said. "Why weren't we told?"
State regulations North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has encouraged parents to reach out to their health care provider if they have specific concerns about their child's health.
"The doctor can assess their symptoms, do a physical exam and talk with the parents about what steps should be taken," NCDHHS said in a statement, noting there are no universal evaluation or testing recommendations for children who were potentially exposed to coal ash. "Results from soil sampling can be helpful in understanding whether heavy metals or other substances are present and at what levels and deciding whether testing is needed....If coal ash that was used as construction fill is properly managed, the risk of exposure through ingestion, inhalation or skin contact is considered to be low."
WCNC Charlotte's investigation found Tutor Time of Mooresville and state regulators failed to ensure the coal ash at the day care was sufficiently covered at all times, as required. After WCNC Charlotte pointed out what looked like exposed coal ash along the day care's fence, Tutor Time of Mooresville started remediation efforts.
Even so, Tutor Time pointed to a visual state inspection of the day care that concluded "there is no risk to children at our site."
"They need to do more than a visual inspection," Vengosh said.
He and others have questioned state regulators' conclusion.
"How do they know that? What quantitative measure have they used?" Kleiman said. "In my opinion, I don't know how you can make an assessment by just looking at ground."
Cancer diagnoses Patients question if coal ash could be the cause
Former Rock Springs Elementary School teacher Lisa Saab also shared her frustrations after only recently learning the school she taught at for almost eight years beginning in 1999 was home to coal ash. While Saab can't say for sure if there's any connection, doctors diagnosed her with thyroid cancer in early 2024.
"I never understood why I had gotten thyroid cancer, but now it kind of makes sense," Saab said. "I had heard of coal ash being in Huntersville and in Mooresville, but I just thought we were safe there."
In October, a Sherrills Ford cancer survivor sued Duke Energy. Tanya Hall said she lives near the Marshall Steam Station and its unlined coal ash basin.
In her complaint, Hall alleged she was "unknowingly exposed to toxic contaminants released into the environment."
A Duke Energy spokesperson has said "there are countless risk factors that can contribute to someone’s health condition," adding the utility is not "aware of any scientific evidence to support a link between health effects in the Lake Norman area and coal ash."
Coal ash sites Known and unknown locations of ash
Public records identify nearly nine million tons of coal ash, at a minimum, buried underground across North Carolina with about a third of the mixture in the Charlotte area. However, advocate Lori Deans points out those are only the sites that are documented.
"We don't even know where it's all at," Deans said. "Generational poisoning is what it is."
She's spent years searching for structural fills. Deans is the one who first discovered the public records identifying the roughly 100,000 tons of coal ash under and around Tutor Time of Mooresville.
Newly obtained North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality data reveal other coal ash locations. However, an agency spokesperson said the coal ash at those sites may not always be limited to just one location, since permits allowed the reuse of ash "in a variety of ways across a multitude of sites."
To view the above interactive map, a disclaimer from the NCDEQ must first be approved
State environmental records show some coal ash was placed along a road leading to a Belmont camp for people with disabilities and delicate medical conditions.
Holy Angels, the non-profit that runs Camp Hope on Lake Wyle, said Duke Power approached the organization in the late 1990s about using coal ash as structural fill. A spokesperson said the area of the road leading to the camp facilities has remained undeveloped and has no coal ash exposed.
“Holy Angels continues to follow the guidance of local and state regulators and share concerns about environmental quality and support additional studies on this issue,” Holy Angels Chief Communications Officer Shawn Flynn said, in part, in a statement. “The safety and well-being of our residents with intellectual developmental disabilities and delicate medical conditions are of utmost importance to Holy Angels.”
Contact Nate Morabito at nmorabito@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.