TPO 41

The reading and the listening both discuss whether the regulations - that have been enforced to power plants for reducing the damages of coal ash - are effective or not. The author expresses three explanations that representatives of these companies declare in order to prevent the governments from establishing more serious rules. The lecturer, however, disagrees with these explanations and demands the officials force better regulations for conserving the environment.

First, the author states that according to the representatives, the existing rules that power plants must observe are helpful enough for safeguarding the environment. For instance, they must use a liner, a particular material that preserves the soil from becoming polluted by coal ash, in all of the new ponds or landfills that they build. Nevertheless, the professor disapproves of this by arguing that these rules are not adequate for saving the environment. Since power plants are needed to apply liner just in every new disposal site, the older sites, which do not have a liner, can still contaminate the soil. For this, the government should enact more serious regulations.

Second, according to the passage, another concern that representatives have is that more strict rules may have a negative impact on recycling coal ash. Currently, a great amount of coal ash is recycled by companies for producing such materials as cement, or bricks, by enforcing stricter rules, people may be frustrated in buying recycling products of coal ash since they may think that these materials are as dangerous as coal ash itself. The professor, on the other hand, refutes this by demonstrating an example. According to the professor, companies recycle mercury - a dangerous substance that has been monitored with very strict regulations - as well for a long time, but the harmful effects of this substance have not discouraged people from buying its recycled products. Therefore, it is not plausible that more strict rules for coal ash discourage people from buying its recycled goods.

Third, the passage goes on to mention that another discussion that power plants' representatives say is that establishing sterner regulations result in experiencing an increase in the price of electricity, as these new rules are costly for power plants. The lecture, nonetheless, opposes the reading by mentioning that when analyzing accurately, the researchers have found out that the price of electricity bills would heighten only 1 percent for every household bill. This mere rise in costs is beneficial because this leads to a cleaner environment.