According to SustainableBusiness.com the plants were “Model T-era” with one opening in 1903 and the other in 1924.

“Both of these decrepit, toxic facilities have now burned their last batches of coal,” SustainableBusiness.com thundered.

So why is this good for the coal sector?

If these plants were as “toxic” as they are being made out to be then it is a good thing for coal that they are gone and no longer giving fuel to those who want to burn the industry down.

Given the way the Environmental Protection Agency has turned on coal – forget about the war on terror, the EPA is running the war on coal – these plant closures are going to be more common.

And this could pose a serious problem.

It is all well and good asking the industry to cop the costs of trying to manage the regulations the EPA is trying to foist on it. But what about the problems that come from retiring old power stations?

Two Australian academics have had a look at this very problem and believe it could be a major issue going forward.

Professors Nanthi Bolan and Ravi Naidu of the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment at the University of South Australia say these could end up being a “time bomb” close to major population centres.

“When coal is burned to generate electricity it produces a number of combustion products which contain heavy metals and organic contaminants,” Bolan said.

“Traditionally these have been dumped in large piles or ash-ponds, mostly around the power stations themselves.

“These products can pose serious threats to air, water and soil and consequently to living organisms, including people.”

The researchers say this risk from old coal-fired power stations is similar to that from old oil refineries, gas works and service stations.

As cities grow, contaminated sites are surrounded by homes, workplaces and schools, exposing more citizens to the risk of legacy toxins from decades earlier.

Naidu said governments had to take steps to ensure this contamination was managed, contained, neutralised or removed.

His colleague said technologies existed that reduced the risk from old power stations.

These include things such as phytocapping or using vegetation to cover the dumps and prevent rainfall from leaching into water ways. Or there is the use of active barriers to intercept and cleanse polluted groundwater.

“We may also be able to convert coal ash into a safe soil improver,” Bolan said.

“However, there is much work still to be done to develop a suite of solutions for any situation.”

This is where some of the revenue from the carbon tax could come in.

The researchers say an example of a clean-up levy is one imposed by the State of California on owners of underground petroleum tanks.

There also is a fund to assist small businesses with unexpected and catastrophic expenses associated with the cleanup of leaking petroleum tanks as well as other petroleum pollution emergencies posing a threat to human health, safety and the environment.