Coal Ash Disaster -- Local News

Local News from Roane County, Tennessee

• Spilled coal ash carries poisons: Arsenic levels are 149 times the limit for drinking water, according to Environmental Protection Agency results from the first round of tests on river water containing the coal ash sludge that flooded 300 acres of Roane County on Dec. 22. Long-term exposure to the coal ash pose health concerns for humans, as well as for fish stocks and local wildlife. Full story.
  

• Doctor's orders: relocate from ash spill: A Roane County couple residing one mile from the TVA ash spill does not want to take any chances when it comes to their unborn child. Neither does her OB-GYN, who wrote a note asking TVA to relocate the couple. Full story.

• TVA to spread seed and straw at Kingston spill site: To contain spilled ash from a failed coal ash retention pond, TVA says it will spray seed and straw in a process similar to the one used by highway departments to provide ground cover. After the seed is sprayed, it will appear green in color for about two months. [OMG: Green coal ash!] Full story.
  

• Officials say they didn't push Roane schools' water plan: Roane County Schools to use bottled water for food preparation when students return to class beginning Monday, January 5. Full story.
  

• TVA inspection points to prior issues with ash pond: An inspection report released in early 2008 that looked at the fly ash pond where a dike failed at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant showed inspectors have noted problems at the pond for years. Full story.

• Erin Brockovich to come to Roane County: Environmental law consultant Erin Brockovich expects a class-action lawsuit will come out of the TVA sludge slide. Brockovich was involved in class-action lawsuit that led to a $333 million settlement in the 1990's and inspired the academy award-winning movie "Erin Brockovich," starring Julia Roberts. Audio interview with the real Erin Brockovich is here.

And finally, an Editorial Cartoon from the Chattanooga Times Free Press:

Perfect!

Toxic Coal Ash Disaster raises Health Concerns

One Billion gallons of coal ash sludge, the residue from burned coal in water, surged out of a holding pond after an earthen retaining wall burst at a coal power plant in Harriman, TN on December 22, 2008 destroying homes and property, and contaminating waterways [click image to enlarge]. The 40 acre holding pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant, a coal-burning electrical power plant, contained decades worth of ash deposits piled 55 feet high. (see previous blog post for Map and more photos)

Coal ash has long been known to contain dangerous concentrations of heavy metals, but for days, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) officials maintained that the sludge released is not toxic. Residents feared for their health, and complained that the authority had been slow to issue information about the toxicity of the coal ash and sludge released into river water.

A week after the ash dam burst, TVA along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended avoiding direct contact with the ash sludge, and that children and pets should be kept away from it. The EPA also recommended that anyone exposed to the ash sludge should wash thoroughly with soap and water and wash the affected clothes separately from other garments.

Federal officials cautioned residents who use private wells or springs to stop drinking the water, and not use it for cooking or bathing. Arsenic in a sample taken from the nearby Emory River was higher than the maximum level allowed for drinking water. Elevated levels of arsenic can cause ailments ranging from nausea to partial paralysis, and long-term exposure has been linked to several types of cancer, according to the EPA. Sampling in the vicinity of the Kingston water plant, which is upstream of the spill, and of the water being served by Kingston showed no violations of drinking water standards. The EPA press release is here.

Residents were also concerned about breathing the ash particles if the massive ash deposits and mounds throughout the area dry out and become airborne. Initially, they were told by TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore that wouldn't happen because it's rainy and damp. One week later, however, the TVA indicated that they will install sprinkler systems to moisten the ash.

Arsenic is not the only toxic chemical in coal ash. To get some sense of what else is in the ash and the quantities involved, the Institute for Southern Studies examined the Kingston facility's Toxics Release Inventories (TRI) filed with the EPA back to 1998 and included the 2007 TRI emissions data from the TVA website. Their findings are summarized in the table below:

[click image to enlarge]

The coal ash releases since 1998 contain over 14 Million pounds of chemical pollutants, raising considerable concern about potential health risks.

Coal ash contains known human carcinogens including Arsenic, Chromium, Mercury, Nickel and polycyclic aromatic compounds, as well as suspected carcinogens including Lead and Cobalt. Mercury and Lead are toxic to the nervous system and can cause developmental problems. A number of the chemicals in the ash have been linked to reproductive problems. Barium, when ingested in drinking water can cause acute gastrointestinal disturbances and muscle weakness as well as kidney damage over time. Vanadium has been linked to respiratory problems, birth defects, and kidney and liver damage.

The Institute for Southern Studies notes limits to the data, including that it is self-reported by the company with no independent verification, looks at only select chemicals and excludes some pollutants found in coal such as radioactive elements, and only goes back to 1998 while Kingston plant has been in operation since 1955. Nonetheless, the data does give a sense of some chemicals of concern present in the ash and thus the potential health risks. The full report from the Institute for Southern Studies is here.

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen promised greater oversight of coal ash retention ponds after viewing the disaster on December, 31. "Burning fossil fuel for electricity is a dirty business," he said. "Everywhere this happens there are huge ash piles, there are environmental issues. My dream out of all of this is maybe this is an epiphany for TVA and for the country that some things have got to change", he said.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing January 8 on the Tennessee Valley Authority and the ash spill, and testimony will be provided by TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore, environmental advocates and local officials who responded to the disaster.

UPDATE Friday, January 2, 2009: Independent tests of the river water near the Kingston power plant were performed at the Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry labs at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Scientists found Arsenic levels from the Kingston power plant intake canal at close to 300 times the allowable amounts in drinking water, while a sample from two miles downstream still revealed arsenic at approximately 30 times the allowed limits. Lead was present at between twice to 21 times the legal drinking water limits, and Thallium levels tested at three to four times the allowable amounts.

Toxicity levels of heavy metals in the water were deemed a cause for concern to humans, as well as for aquatic life's ability to survive and reproduce in waters with these levels. The full report is here and the river sites tested are shown in a Map here.

UPDATE #2: The EPA has finally disclosed it's quantitative test results on the river water. The water sample from the Emory River near the spill site showed total Arsenic levels 149 times the maximum acceptable level, total concentration of Lead five times above normal, and slightly elevated total levels of Beryllium, Cadmium and Chromium. Samples taken near the Kingston water treatment plant, which is upstream from the spill site, were found to be within the federal limits, except for Thallium, which was found at levels three times the maximum limit. The news report is here.

Environmental Disaster at Coal Power Facility

An environmental disaster occurred at a coal-fired power plant in Harriman, Tennessee on Dec. 22. A dam holding 5.4 Million of cubic yards of waste Coal Ash slurry gave way and the contents smashed through a Harriman neighborhood, knocking one home off its foundation, damaging 11 others, and toppling trees and power lines. It left 4 to 6 feet of gray ash muck across a 300 to 400 acre area, draining into nearby rivers that supply drinking water downstream to millions of people. Coal ash contains toxic heavy metals which can cause cancer and neurological problems, and are used in rat poison and insecticides. [click image to enlarge]

The coal ash dam broke at the Kingston Fossil Plant, a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power station on the banks of the Emory River, which feeds into the Clinch River near the confluence of the Tennessee River. Many of the coal ash chunks released from the dam were huge, the size of boulders and icebergs. A map of the area showing the coal plant (fire icon), 40 acre ash storage ponds (grey area), dam breach (thick, red line), derailed coal train (train icon) rivers (wave icons) and flow directions (red arrows) is below (click icons, shaded areas, line and arrows for photos and more information).

View Larger Map
TVA authorities initially issued no warnings about the potential chemical 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."

Residents were told by the TVA to boil their water, but environmentalists warned residents that boiling would not remove the toxic heavy metals. Subsequent testing of river water near the spill showed elevated levels of lead and thallium, which can cause birth defects and nervous and reproductive system disorders, said John Moulton, a TVA spokesman. Lead is known to be a potent neurotoxin, and thallium is highly toxic and is used in rat poisons and insecticides.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently performing independent tests of the waterways affected by the spill as well as those upstream of the spill for comparison.

Chemicals and metals from coal ash have contaminated drinking water in several states, made people and animals sick in New Mexico, and tainted fish in Texas and elsewhere, according to Lisa Evans, an attorney with Earthjustice, a nonprofit national environmental law firm that follows the issue. It's an easy problem to fix, and at the very least should be placed in lined, state-of-the-art landfills, she said.

One Harriman resident expressed concern about the affects on her family's health after breathing the coal ash dust once the water in it dries out. TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore said that people should wash their clothes if it gets on them and that the real concern would be for the material to be airborne. That wouldn't happen because it's rainy and damp, he said.

Activists for years have pushed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate coal ash, such as this, as a hazardous waste. Jeff Stant, with the Environmental Integrity Project, said ash is the country's second-largest industrial waste stream, after mining wastes. "EPA has shirked its responsibility to do something about this for years. The law says EPA has to manage the wastes in a way to make sure they don't pose any imminent danger to health and the environment. EPA has failed to do that." This is not the first time that the EPA has been slow to deal with Coal-related hazards detrimental to public health and the environment.

The EPA needs to take bold action on hazardous coal ash waste and this environmental disaster. EPA needs to ensure a rapid and safe cleanup of the coal ash spill, and to regulate coal ash storage now. EPA must Protect the public from potential health risks and Protect the Environment, including property and homes (see photo, below). That's their job! Let the Obama Transition Team know how you feel about this environmental disaster by sending them an e-mail message: Click Here.

[click image to enlarge]

One only needs to look at the photos taken around the coal ash dam breach at the Kingston Power Plant to realize that coal will Never, Ever, be clean. We need to shift to real clean energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal.