Massive coal-ash spill causes river of sludge and controversy

[Robbien]

Source: Seattle Times

KINGSTON, Tenn. — What may be the nation's largest spill of coal ash lay thick and largely untouched over hundreds of acres of land and waterways Wednesday after a dam broke this week, as officials and environmentalists argued over its potential toxicity.

Federal studies long have shown coal ash to contain significant quantities of heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and selenium, which can cause cancer and neurological problems. But with no official word on the dangers of the sludge in Tennessee, displaced residents spent Christmas Eve worried about their health and their property and wondering what to do.

. . .

"They're giving their apologies, which don't mean very much," said Holly Schean, a waitress whose home, which she shared with her parents, had been swept off its foundation when millions of cubic yards of ash breached a retaining wall early Monday. The TVA has not declared the house uninhabitable, she said. "I don't need your apologies," she added. "I need information."

The spill reignited a debate over whether the federal government should regulate coal ash as a hazardous material. Similar ponds and mounds of ash exist at hundreds of coal plants nationwide.

The TVA has issued no warnings about the potential dangers of the spill, saying there was as yet no evidence of toxins. "Most of that material is inert," said Gilbert Francis Jr., a TVA spokesman. "It does have some heavy metals within it, but it's not toxic or anything."

Read more: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008558917_sludge25.html

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TVA spokesman: "Heavy metals not toxic or anything"
I believe the TVA needs a better spokesman.

Papers in Tennessee are silent about the spill which led to this LTTE in the Chattanoogan:

Don't Cover Up Story About Dangerous TVA Spill
posted December 25, 2008

I am writing you about the coverup of the TVA Kingston Steam Plant's two million cubic yard spill of fly ash. This dwarfs Exxon Valdez and comes from the plant that more than any others killed the Smokey Mountain National Park.

It is a top three story on Google today with the San Francisco and New York papers having good coverage. Minimal coverage is available from the Tennessee press.


I care if TVA kills the Smokies and fish. This one really scares me as fly ash spills can kill people, shorten their lives, lessen quality of life. Please cover it.

The Times Free Press seems to be owned by TVA and the Tennessean is talking mostly about dead fish. This is a huge story. Let the public know how dangerous this is and make Gil Francis' management of this story a coverup issue.

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_141422.asp

[Bobbieo]

1. Where did all those dead fish come from I see on the news?

[Robbien]

3. You didn't see the fish. They were not on the news. You didn't see them. Or so says the TVA.

Nothing to see there, move on.

From the same article:

Despite numerous reports from recreational fishermen and television news video of a large fish kill downstream of the spill, Francis said the TVA's environmental team had not encountered dead fish.

On Swan Pond Road, home to the residences nearest the plant, a group of environmental advocates went door to door telling residents that boiling their water, as officials had suggested, would not remove heavy metals.

The TVA is telling people to boil water??? No wonder citizens don't believe a word the TVA is telling them.

[Muttocracy]

16. Boiling water? That will concentrate the metals! ack! nt

[quidam56]

17. TVA spokesman said...

The fish froze to death. http://www.wisecountyissues.com We are getting a spanking brand new clean hybrid coal power plant in Wise County, Virginia, ain't that grand ? They say Bush kept us safe from terrorism since 9/11 ? They just don't mention TOXIC TERRORISM, Hannity's America sure isn't My America.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. The same thing happened 6 years ago in WV, and nothing was said or done about it then.

This was avoidable, but the "clean coal" industry evaded and paid off so they would not have to clean up the mess they created.

One of the top ten oxymorons in the history of the English Language..."CLEAN COAL"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4714066&mesg_id=4714105

[Hulk]

4. "Good old boy country"......hell, we don't need no regulation!!

No siree bob. Just let us do our thing without all them nosy folks from Washington telling us how to run our country. We knows how to take care of ourselves.

Case in point.

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Not harmful??? Picture heavy

This not water...it is coal sludge








What is left of rich, green mountain forest after mountain top removal by explosion to get at the coal





Great site for info and pics..from people who live in the midst of it.
http://www.ilovemountains.org/memorial/c302/

[ImOnlySleeping]

6. Seperate corporations

If this is like any other coal operation in the states, they've set this operation up as a separate corporation that they can just write off sticking the tax payer with the clean up bill.

[Trillo]

7. This kind of crap makes me so mad.

Mad Cow is bad, except when it's in the service of selling beef, then there is no mad cow.

Genetic enginerring is good, except when it's little people doing it.

Melamine in the diet is very bad, it kills animals such as dogs and cats, oh, wait, strike that, in fact it's okay in small amounts. Hopefully they forgot about those dogs and cats that died.

Mercury in the diet is so bad, fish should seldom be eaten, oh, wait, strike that, mercury in fish is perfectly safe for consumption.

---

What happens when a little person has a similar accident? Why, first the threat of charge$, followed by charge$ and more charge$, criminal charges (no $), but when the person responsible is heading a large enough corporate organization, then there is no responsibility, certainly no charges for how can a corporation be jailed, and if there are charge$ leveled, they are nowhere near the relative charge$ leveled against the "little guy". Talk about regressive punishments!

[Robbien]

12. Chamber of Commerce types have made it almost impossible to sue corporations

They have lobbied Congresscritters to make sure laws were set up that if a suit is brought against a corp, that suit is automatically sent to arbitration. Of course the Chamber of Commerce types own the arbitrators.

[BobRossi]

8. Autoworker's fault.

They make too much money.

[jberryhill]

9. Clean coal /nt

[varelse]

10. Heavy metals *are* toxic

:grr:

[Redneck Socialist]

11. Wait until the shit dries out and starts blowing around.

Send some TVA types down to get a few good lungfuls of the stuff, then let them sing their "non-toxic" tune.

[PufPuf23]

13. Heavy metals are not only toxic and mutagenic

but heavy metals in solution will accumlate in soil and bio-accumulate in the vegetation and animal food chain.

The TV news this AM stated that this spill was far larger than the 2 million cubic yards cited in this story.

[underpants]

14. This wasn't Massey Energy but the same thing is going to happen to these people

as has happened to at least one town that Massey destroyed

They will be reimbursed for "economic loss" of property which given the region will be not enough money to buy a house of the same size let alone rebuild and of course they lost their homes (perhaps second or third generation home) which can't really be replaced.

Same old same old. Not wealthy?? F you

[Fireweed247]

15. Who is going to pay to clean up that toxic mess?

Why do I have the feeling this will go unpunished?

[Posteritatis]

18. You will! (nt)