TVA Tennessee Disaster: Much Worse than Imagined and Radioactive!

[ensho]

http://discuss.epluribusmedia.net/tva_disaster_gets_worse_its_radioactive


"Imagined" is apparently the key word with the TVA, btw. This does not surprise me, unfortunately. What DOES surprise me is that there has been no real media coverage on what may be the very worst man-made environmental disaster in this country, ever.

Water testing by Appalachian State University is showing 35-300 ppm more arsenic and 6-60 ppm more lead than the EPA water drinking standards. What has not been discussed is that coal ash is radioactive, and at this point I have not found any evidence that measurements of uranium or thorium are being monitored. Let's try and change that!

-long snip with video-
-------------------------------


and the people of Tenn. go on as if?

MEDIA - listen up! "very worst man-made environmental disaster in the country, ever."

and the people of Tenn.

and the people downstream of the two rivers?

[ananda]

1. The Tennessee troglodytes..

.. deserve better. All life is sacred.

Maybe they'll start noticing that when
people start coming down with cancer
and birth defects, and wildlife gets
very strange.

[juno jones]

2. There are people here on DU

who claim that ash is safe as milk and thet they'd drink water that has leeched thru that shit in a NYC minute.

Go for it guys.

[madokie]

34. thats a big ole pile of

bullshit

[K Gardner]

3. I live about 40 miles east of the area. Some people here still are not

aware of what has happened. Thankfully, the United Mtn Defense and some high profile legal beagles are helping the people living in the MIDDLE of this toxic disaster to realize that:

A) The dead fish and turtles in their yards didn't die of "exposure to the cold", as TVA told them.

B) Their well water is probably NOT safe to drink, as TVA told them.

C) Keeping their sprinklers on to keep the ash wet, as TVA suggested, is probably not the solution.

D) The spill is probably not going to be cleaned up in a few months and retirees are probably not going to continue to flock to the area to partake of the beautiful mountain/lake scenery and low cost of living.

Thanks for posting this. It is unbelievable this has had so little coverage. And yes, there are people here on DU who have literally said: "It's not toxic and its just in the wrong place."

[truedelphi]

14. Thank you for that local point of view. An important one. n/t

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

15. The well water is probably safe right now, but that might not be the case later.

It will have to be monitored to determine what does or doesn't eventually leech into the water table.

>C) Keeping their sprinklers on to keep the ash wet, as TVA suggested, is probably not the solution.

Certainly not a solution, but it does avoid the biggest potential health threat, which is inhalation of dry fly ash, which is known to cause lung problems.

[K Gardner]

19. Both good and true points. Fortunately, it hasn't stopped raining here in over a month..:-)

[tnlefty]

23. Please tell me that you're kidding re: not toxic and just in the

wrong place.

I've been trying to find everything that I can to get info. about this disaster. I've been puzzled about the lack of coverage but it has picked up a little in the local paper.

I've been sad, furious and right now I have knots in my stomach. This state deserves better than Dipshit's** unqualifed crony appointments to the TVA board and the disaster they did nothing to prevent.

[drm604]

4. It's unsettling to say the least that this hasn't had more media coverage.

Maybe we need to flood change.gov with messages about this. If Obama speaks up about it then maybe the media will have to cover it.

[K Gardner]

5. Not a bad idea - he could at least get his "environmental" team on it after Jan 20th. n/t

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

6. Maybe It's Not Front And Center Because You're Overdramatizing It?

:shrug: :think:

[ensho]

7. only you would say that

nt

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

9. Actually, I'm Sure An Overwhelming Majority Of Clear Rationally Thinking Intelligent People Would,

after reading your 'article'.

[K Gardner]

18. What an absolute and utter display of ignorance.

[NutmegYankee]

27. No kidding.

The radiation isn't the concern. The levels are low, and it's unlikely it will get into your lungs, where its dangerous because the elements are beta and alpha emitters. These elements have long half-lives, so they decay at a slow rate, producing little radiation.

The bigger concern I see is the toxic metals.

[pleah]

8. K&R

[eowyn_of_rohan]

10. I had not known that coal ash is radioactive

This is heartbreaking.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

13. It's not radioactive at levels that could be dangerous.

A far greater danger is from chemical contaminants to the water table. These might take some time (years or longer) to appear and so monitoring of the water table will have to be ongoing in the affected area for a very long time. But the biggest danger is from airborne silica (which is why fly ash is stored as slurry in the first place) which, if inhaled as airborne dust can cause serious lung problems.

This is a gigantic mess, but it's hardly the worst environmental disaster in the history of the US.

[K Gardner]

20. I think the qualifier in that statement was "man-made disaster", and I'm not certain

as to the absolute truth of that, but I have read it on many sites, including the NYTimes.

Would be interesting to actually find out what they are comparing it to and how it stacks up.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

21. I read worse than Exxon-Valdez

I am not sure who is doing the analysis & making the value judgments... looks terrible to me, and certainly cannot be a good thing by any stretch

[populistdriven]

25. Coal Power releases more radioactivity per Watt than Nuclear.

[Are_grits_groceries]

11. Here are slides of the area and a link to a short video about coal ash.

http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery-show/G0000TKIBm80gDNE?&

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/01/communitys-future-clouded_n_154708.html

video:http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/01/06/us/1194837439034/coal-ash-spill-raises-broader-questions.html?scp=7&sq=coal%20ash%20spill&st=cse

I wouldn't want to drink anything near there. The groundwater has to be nasty too.

[robertpaulsen]

12. Proof positive that 'clean coal' is an oxymoron.

Glad to recommend this to the greatest page. I hope Obama is paying attention and knocks 'clean coal' off his list of viable fossil fuel 'alternatives'.

[Gregorian]

16. They don't advertise that that radioactive material is also going up their chimneys.

I learned this way back in one of my thermodynamics courses. More radioactive particulates go into our atmosphere from coal fired power plants than some number of Chernobyls. I don't remember the numbers. But they're not good numbers.

Radioactivity is going into our atmosphere from these plants.

More people means more power generation is needed. Where are we going with this mess?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

17. In theory, new emission controls on coal-fired plants...

...greatly reduce the emissions of radioactive elements into the atmosphere. Given the weight of most radioactive elements, they have a tendency not to stay in the atmosphere for very long, so it's frequently been noted that the areas downwind of coal-fired power plants have higher levels of background radiation than areas in the vicinity of nuclear power plants.

[Uncle Joe]

22. I can't believe it, I just told a co-worker here in Nashville about the TVA spill

possibly being radioactive and he wasn't even aware, there was a spill! A little context he is a conservative Republican type although I'm working on him.

I must say, it was on the front page of the Tennessean this past Sunday, or at least one quarter of the front page, but as for the national corporate media, I don't believe they give a damn, at least the Tennessean gives a partial damn. When cancer starts spiking in the area, I'm sure some of them will report no one could've seen this coming.

Thanks for the thread, ensho.

[tnlefty]

24. Thank you for posting this.

All information is appreciated even when it causes my stomach to tie up in knots. I don't trust TVA and whenever they issue the 'within normal limits' phrase I automatically think "oh shit."

[Joe Fields]

26. kicked and rec'd.

this needs to stay on the front page for awhile. Downright shocking.

[AzDar]

28. K & R ...

[Duppers]

29. Harriman coal ash coverage - watch this angry TN resident

Harriman coal ash coverage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmihsLzT7XQ&watch_response


And be sure to watch the NYTimes video posted by Are_grits_groceries above:

http://tinyurl.com/7ao3u6

[Duppers]

30. recommendations from SouthKnoxBubba

Fly ash storage dumps: A national problem

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 2009/01/07

The Environmental Integrity Project has studied EPA data on fly ash containment ponds across America and found that at least 13 states have 3 or more under-regulated fly ash storage facilities on the "Worst-Of Lists" for toxic chemicals. One facility in Orlando FL holds ten times more arsenic than the Kingston site.

The EIP is calling for 1) Phase-out of all wet storage of toxic coal ash, 2) Immediate inspection and monitoring of all toxic coal ash storage and disposal units, and 3) Federal regulation of all toxic coal ash storage and disposal by year's end.

Here's their index page with links to the press release and the full report with tables and attachments.

http://www.knoxviews.com/node/10073

[Duppers]

31. BREAKING NEWS: Class action "private nuisance" lawsuit against TVA

BREAKING NEWS: Class action "private nuisance" lawsuit against TVA

Submitted by R. Neal on Wed, 2009/01/07

This just in, Knoxville law firm Ball & Scott, Hausfeld LLP in DC, and attorney Bruce Fox in Clinton have filed a class action today in U. S. District Court in Knoxville against TVA on behalf of riparian landowners on the Emory & Clinch Rivers under a private nuisance theory.

The action is similar to previous lawsuits against Pigeon River polluters Champion International and Blue Ridge Paper.

Michael Hausfeld is best known as the attorney who years ago brought action against Swiss Banks for conspiring with the Nazis in WWII. He got $2.3 billion settlement for Holocaust survivors and waived his attorney fee.

Here's a copy of the lawsuit....


The plaintiffs seek damages in excess of $5 million.

http://www.southknoxbubba.net/node/10074

[enuegii]

32. And, of course, TVA will pass on the costs of any legal actions to their customers. n/t

[malaise]

33. Don't expect M$Greedia to cover this

They are hacks for corporations

[Romulox]

35. Lax environmental regulation is one of Tennessee's "competitive advantages". nt

[quidam56]

36. Bush/Cheney are TOXIC TERRORISTS to Appalachia

Appalachia has been bombed, blasted and bulldozed right into Third World America. http://www.wisecountyissues.com We can't stand anymore of the progress and prosperity thanks to THE COAL INDUSTRY. Hannity's America sure isn't My America...