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Less than 24 hours after Henry County residents packed the Benson Center for a discussion on the concerns of potentially hazardous waste in the old Evergy power plant, county commissioners picked third-party companies to conduct additional environmental testing.
“We just want the truth, that’s all I’m asking for,“ said Commissioner Mark Larson.
Residents, elected leaders and Evergy were all in one place Monday night as they openly shared their thoughts on fly ash and its impact on the area.
Fly ash is the byproduct of burning coal, which often includes heavy metals that can cause a myriad of health issues.
“Some of the problem that we have with this is causality — proving that it was related to this,” said Sam Alexander, medical doctor.
Alexander spoke about hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen that residents are most worried about.
“It’s something that causes six different types of cancers,” he said. “Most of these cancers that occur with these agents are pretty resistant to treatment.”
It can also cause birth defects, kidney failure and respiratory issues.
Stacey Shanks, who lives 5,000 feet away from the site of the old Evergy plant, said she is worried her son’s intense headaches, nose bleeds and vision issues are an early sign.
She took her three boys to get tested for heavy metals in their system this week.
“I have a child that cries on the way out here; he’s scared to be out here right now,” Shanks said. “He’s been going through doctor’s appointments for the last year for headaches that have been unexplained. And now we’re starting to wonder if there's a correlation with that.”
Living off the land and raising her boys in the country has always been the dream. When they bought this land seven years ago, Shanks knew there was a power plant just down the road.
But what her family did not know was the potential for hazardous materials to threaten their health.
“I am overwhelmed, I am stressed. It feels like there’s a lot of decisions that have to be made. As a parent, as a resident, I have a lot of unanswered questions," Shanks said. "The hardest thing for me is being a mom. People talking about me needing to possibly relocate and move. That’s the hardest part of all of this is I don’t know each day what decision to make that’s in the best interest of my children, and I really need answers with that.”
Since word about the fly ash started circulating town, the Davis R-XII School District has moved classes to a church in Clinton, Missouri.
Shanks has decided to keep her three boys home.
“That’s a huge concern, that’s a huge disruption to our daily lives,” Shanks said. “There’s children scared to be in their normal school, there’s parents that are scared to be in their homes, there’s people out here on groundwater that are scared to do dishes, scared to wash their laundry, scared to cook with the water. That is where the concern needs to be right now.”