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Here is what we know about coal ash ponds:

l They are man-made lagoons filled with the icky byproduct of coal-burning power plants.

l They had been defended as safe until one in Tennessee ripped through its dam last December and spilled millions of tons of its vile contents into the countryside.

l There are 14 of them in North Carolina, including two near Eden (28,500 tons over eight acres).

l Coal ash contains significant quantities of heavy metals such as lead, selenium and arsenic that can cause cancer and other health problems.

l Twelve of the nation's 44 coal ponds described as "high-hazard potential" by the Environmental Protection Agency are right here in North Carolina. This means, in plain English, that "a failure will probably cause loss of human life," the EPA says.

Fortunately, a bill sponsored by Rep. Pricey Harrison of Greensboro and passed into law last summer calls for regular structural inspections of the dams that hold the lakes.

The original version of Harrison's bill had been tougher and more comprehensive. Predictably, it failed to gain much traction in the face of stiff opposition from power companies.

Yet there's so much we still don't know about coal ash ponds. And the more answers we get the more mysteries that seem to bubble up from the slurry muck.

For instance, a new report by the environmental group Appalachian Voices raises serious questions about the potential for groundwater contamination. Data gathered from every one of the state's coal ash ponds confirm that every one of them is contaminating groundwater with iron, lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, manganese and other toxic metals. In some instances the levels of toxins measure more than 380 times what is considered safe for groundwater in North Carolina.

Neither Duke Energy nor Progress Energy disputes the findings. And state officials say the contamination does not pose an imminent danger -- as far as they know.

That's hardly comforting. What's more, coal ash is routinely recycled into building materials and other products, but little is known about the hazards those materials may pose. For example, coal ash residue is used in some roadbed construction in the state. A more worrisome application: a golf course built atop coal ash in Chesapeake, Va., where residents blame it for health issues. "That's the bigger problem," Harrison said Thursday. "We don't know where that stuff is. We don't know how it's being monitored."

The point is, Harrison's bill ought to be only the beginning of a harder, closer look at these pools of sludge and the threats they could pose.

The EPA, which has dragged its feet on coal ash, may make a big difference. Tougher federal rules regulating coal ash could come by December. The sooner the better.

When it comes to coal ash, what we don't know definitely could hurt us.