EPA Supports Beneficial Use of Coal Combustion Residuals in Concrete and Wallboard

On February 7, 2014, the EPA released its evaluation of two of the most common beneficial uses of coal combustion residuals (CCRs): fly ash concrete and flue gas desulfurization gypsum wallboard. EPA concluded that the beneficial use of the encapsulated CCRs in concrete and wallboard is safe and appropriate because releases of constituents of concern from these materials are comparable to or lower than non-CCR materials, or are at or below relevant health and environmental benchmarks. EPA used its newly developed methodology for evaluating encapsulated beneficial uses of CCRs to evaluate these beneficial uses, which account for almost half of the total amount of CCRs that are beneficially used.