Makeup, Bowling Balls, and Other Toxic Products You Use

The EPA wants to classify coal ash as hazardous waste—and you can find it in your home, backyard, and medicine cabinet.

Every year, coal-fired power plants generate about 130 million tons of coal ash—leftover sludge containing arsenic, mercury, and lead. The industry recycles around 55 million tons of the stuff annually, sticking it into a variety of products, from cement to cosmetics. No wonder it wasn't too happy about an EPA proposal to classify coal ash as hazardous waste. Here's where you can find recycled coal ash, in order of increasing creepiness.

Front page image: Bruno D. Rodrigues