44 coal ash sites called potential threats

North Carolina has the most sites on the list, a dozen. The largest concentration is near Cochise, Ariz., where there are seven storage ponds.

The agency said it will inspect each of the 44 coal ash sites located near communities to make certain they are structurally sound. The sites are being classified as potentially highly hazardous because they are near where people live and not because of any discovered defect.

“The high hazard potential means there will be probable loss of human life if there is a significant dam failure,’’ said Matt Hale, director of EPA’s office of research, conservation, and recovery. “It is a measure of what would happen if the dam would fail. It is not a measure of the stability of the dam.’’

Coal ash, a product of burning coal, is kept in liquid or a slurry in containment ponds or dams. The EPA lists more than 400 such impoundments across the country, but the 44 singled out yesterday represent those that are near populated areas.

No sites in New England were on the list.

Last December, two days before Christmas, a coal ash pond broke near Kingston, Tenn., sending 5 million cubic yards of ash and sludge across more than 300 acres, destroying or damaging 40 homes. The incident prompted a review of the safety of such storage ponds.

Until now, the national coal ash site list has not been provided to the public. Earlier this month, the Army Corps of Engineers said it didn’t want the locations disclosed because of national security. Hale said that issue has been resolved.

The EPA has been to half of the 44 sites and expects to have reports on those sites soon, Hale said. The EPA inspections are continuing. The EPA also is reviewing state inspection reports at some of the sites.

The seven ponds near Cochise, Ariz., hold material from the Apache Station Combustion Waste Disposal Facility operated by Arizona Electric Power Cooperative.