ashholes.org is an organization of concerned citizens working to raise awareness of environmental injustice. Minority communities around the USA are often targeted as "easy solutions" to toxic problems and are much more likely to live and/or work near factories, waste facilities and landfills. We think this is unfair – we hope you do, too.

The latest injustice – 3 million tons of coal ash are coming to Uniontown, Alabama, one of America's poorest communities. The coal will travel in over 35,000 railcars from the site of a spill at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in Kingston, Tennessee. – The December, 2008 event was one of the most devastating, yet seemingly unnoticed, environmental disasters in the country's history. Coal ash disposal is not federally regulated and can be found in landfills in 47 states. Some states consider it toxic. Some do not. Documented effects of coal ash exposure include breathing difficulties, certain forms of cancer, and circulatory problems. Our mission is to raise awareness of the environmental injustice associated with the disposal of coal ash in the United States. Join us in identifying "ash holes" and keeping coal ash out of everyone's backyards.

*Toxic constituents include arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, chromium VI, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, thallium, and vanadium, along with dioxins and PAH compounds.

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To Administrator Lisa P. Jackson United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dear Administrator Jackson, Will you protect me? In December 2008, one of the largest ecological disasters in U.S. history occurred. A dike at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power plant broke, releasing over 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash into the Emory River and onto the community of Kingston, Tennessee. A composite of poisonous heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury and carcinogens, coal ash has not been officially declared hazardous by the EPA, despite 28 years of study. Coal ash "disposal" is not federally regulated by the EPA, its treatment varies greatly from state to state. The coal ash spilled in Kingston is on its way to Uniontown, Alabama, one of the poorest communities in the U.S., where it will be piled into the privately-owned Arrowhead landfill. The majority of citizens in Uniontown and surrounding areas are not aware of the impending toxic composite headed their way. Those citizens aware of the danger feel as if they are invisible to their local government. This is a case of environmental injustice, in which an underrepresented population of mostly African-American citizens who live at or below the poverty line are being taken advantage of. I ask that you protect me and my fellow citizens of Uniontown, Alabama and the United States of America by calling coal ash what it is: a toxic substance that needs to be federally regulated. I ask you as Chief Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to protect me. Thank you, Uniontown, AL