Tennessee Coal Ash Spill Spurs Worries Around U.S.A.

"If anything could open the eyes of the entire nation to the dangers of coal, the Tennessee TVA spill should be it. When more than a billion gallons burst a wall at a power plant in Harriman, Tennessee on December 22nd, just over two weeks ago, it swallowed up most of the town, destroying homes and leaving behind a mess of toxic sludge. Many wonder whether the area will ever really be able to recover, as residents worry about the safety of their water and air.

Those who saw the sludge come barreling at their homes described it as a ‘tsunami’, and people who saw the spill’s effects firsthand said the land resembled that of the fictional Mordor, from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. It’s been said that the Tennessee coal ash spill may be the worst environmental disaster in this nation’s history, and as details have emerged about how the coal combustion waste was stored by the Tennessee Valley Authority, people around the country worry that it could happen to their town, too.

TVA and state inspection reports show that the Tennessee Valley Authority knew for the past decade of leaks at the ash retention pond. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that in both 2003 and 2006, leaks in the landfill where the wet fly ash was dumped were so bad that TVA repaired drainage and dikes around the retention ponds and, for nearly a year and a half, TVA suspended adding any more ash deposits to the landfill in an attempt to let the dredge cell dry out and stabilize."

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Earth First!