Ash Spill Disaster One Year Later

Almost one year after the catastrophic coal ash disaster in Roane County from a TVA power plant, the news continues to grow worse. The most glaring aspect is how the disaster could have been prevented if only warnings were accepted and acted upon, or if TVA's own plans to reduce the massive coal ash storage site had been followed.

At KnoxViews, some recent posts have been tracking the probe into the disaster:

-- A report on how TVA's policies and plans contributed to the disaster and that TVA's plants are among the most inefficient in the nation. (link)

-- The ash spill released more toxic pollution into the land air and water than was released by ALL the combined energy plants in the United States. (link)

RoaneViews has likewise been following the disaster and the aftermath very closely with in-depth coverage far more consistently than the mainstream media in the state.

And almost a year later, little has been done to change the way coal ash is stored and handled in the country, despite numerous hearings in Washington. Plans are proposed, ideas are offered, but action still awaits.

"Heads Will Roll" In TVA Toxic Spill?

From the very creation of the coal ash containment site in Kingston through decades of warnings about increasing risks of catastrophic failure and even through the days following the massive toxic flood of coal ash into the rivers and land in Kingston, TVA failed and support those failures with more flawed policy -- all this according to TVA's own inspector general's report on the disastrous spill in December of 2008. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports:

"The Tennessee Valley Authority ignored warnings for more than two decades about the safety of the fly ash pond at its Kingston Fossil Plant and could have prevented its catastrophic collapse by addressing them, the TVA inspector general wrote in a scathing report issued Tuesday.

The utility's independent watchdog found TVA management has not accepted responsibility for decisions leading to the catastrophe. Instead, the report found, officials limited the scope of an investigation into the cause of the disaster in an apparent effort to shore up its legal defense in lawsuits.

The utility's actions, the report concluded, were fueled by a cultural resistance to change that looked at ash as insignificant.

And, he warned, a similar spill could occur at other power plants if TVA doesn't take action.

The report, issued by Inspector General Richard W. Moore, is the most comprehensive review to date of the spill, which dumped 5.4 million cubic yards of fly ash sludge into the Emory River and surrounding countryside on Dec. 22. No one died, but 26 houses were destroyed or damaged, and the tab for the cleanup could approach $1 billion.

"Any restoration for individual victims or the community of necessity involves an acknowledgement of TVA's role in what happened in the early morning hours of December 22, 2008," Moore wrote.

Moore and TVA President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Kilgore testified on the report and the environmental cleanup before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment on Tuesday morning. Kilgore told members of the subcommittee, which oversees TVA, that the utility might have to clean house in light of the spill and its aftermath.

"We have to change," Kilgore said. "If that means heads have to roll, if people have to leave, so be it."

Moore hired the engineering firm Marshall Miller and Associates of Bluefield, Va., to assist in the investigation, and his conclusions are based on their review of documents and facilities, plus his office's interviews with key TVA personnel.

Moore found TVA could have prevented the spill if the utility had corrected problems raised by internal engineers and consultants beginning as early as 1985. That year, TVA's director of engineering projects noted in a memorandum that an earthen dike that held back the sludge wasn't built to design specifications and had a calculated safety factor below acceptable levels. The dike's rupture 23 years later released the flood of toxin-laden sludge.

A pair of contractors' reports, issued in 2004 after TVA temporarily closed the facility because of a blowout in one of the dredge cells, also should have raised red flags, Moore wrote. One, by Geosyntec Consultants, "should have served as a clear warning to TVA regarding the stability of the Kingston ash storage facilities," Moore wrote.

TVA didn't follow Geosyntec's recommendations to conduct more studies on the stability of the pond and install monitoring and drainage systems at the facility. Moore wrote that Kilgore "was unable to ascertain why" TVA didn't make the improvements.

"Had corrective measures been taken in a timely fashion, it is possible that TVA could have potentially prevented the occurrence of the failure," the report stated.

One TVA engineer told investigators that "TVA had a cheap solution to ash storage by stacking higher, so that is what they did."

A video of the hearing is here at the subcomittee's web site.

Previous posts from this blog - many tracking the constantly changing "facts" provided by TVA - are here.

Blogger R. Neal points out testimony in the hearing mentioned above where Congressman John Duncan ridiculed those investigating and demanding corrective action:

"It's interesting that U.S. Representatives from Texas and Minnesota are strong advocates for the residents of Roane County and other areas affected by TVA coal-fired power plants, while Tennessee's Rep. Jimmy Duncan (R-TN2) refers to disaster victims and cleanup advocates as "extremists" and "kooks."

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN4) take a different view. Sen. Alexander says the IG report "raises major concerns which must be taken seriously." Rep. Davis says that TVA "has a long road ahead to regain the trust of Tennessee families."

Rep. Duncan's remarks are disgraceful and an insult to the residents of Roane County."


RoaneViews has local reactions from residents to this report and many more stories on the ongoing problems with TVA.

"Heads will roll" says Kilgore -- really? When? Who? The future safety of so many, and the future operations of TVA demand a heavy price today and will for many years to come.

Fatal Flaws in TVA

A very critical report on TVA's operations at their coal-fired plants, prompted by the disastrous spill of coal ash in December of last year, says TVA failed in key areas:

"The consultants said the "necessary systems, controls and culture were not in place" to properly manage the coal ash sites at TVA's 11 coal-fired power plants.

The report found TVA had no standard operating or maintenance procedures and failed to conduct annual training for engineers doing inspections. It said there was little or no internal communication between the four TVA divisions responsible for ash retention." (link)

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports:

"TVA's board of directors adopted a resolution Tuesday calling for a host of measures to restructure the public utility's procedures and culture companywide.

The resolution calls for development of a remediation plan at all TVA coal ash ponds and hiring an outside firm to help the utility create a plan to fix problems in systems, standards, controls and its culture of accountability. Plans for achieving these goals are to be ready for board review at TVA's Aug. 20 meeting.

"Also Tuesday, board members approved the hiring of David Mould, former NASA assistant administrator of public affairs, as senior vice president of communications."

Outside consultants were needed to reveal these fatal flaws and more consultants are to be hired to ensure TVA does the job right?

Are there fatal flaws throughout TVA? When will they be addressed?

It's Now A Crime To Report Pollution

Attempting to assist residents in Roane County following the catastrophic coal ash spill from TVA and attempting to monitor or report on pollution is apparently a crime.

"I was threatened with up to one year in jail for my work with the air monitoring program. Truthfully I love yall but it sorta freaked me out today to hear that I may spend a year in jail because I put up an air monitor.

TVA is very scared about the samples that we are taking with this air monitoring equipment and they are willing to threaten me and other UMD volunteers to keep this valuable field work from being done. We need your help. UMD volunteers have listened to your concerns about air and water quality, we have done the sampling, and we have been threatened with jail time because of our scientific monitoring."

The court system should be ashamed for adding muscle to TVA's intimidation.

Burchett Calls Out TVA 'Bozos'

State Senator Tim Burchett was moving forward new legislation demanding protections for people and the environment from TVA regarding TVA's coal ash storage -- calling them out as bozos and arrogant for their inept handling of the massive coal ash spill in Roane County in December 2008. Video and audio of the committee hearings where Rep. Burchett spoke on SB 1559 is here. Comments from Burchett begin in the last 10 minutes of the meeting.

Sadly,Sen. Ken Yeager, who represents Harriman, moved to delay the bill, saying that the mayors in the affected communities might have some suggestions for elements to add to the legislation. Of course, Sen. Yeager has no idea what those suggestions might be. He would have actually needed to have spoken with the gentlemen in question. At best what he wanted was to delay action on the legislation.

At RoaneViews this week, Sen. Yeager is cited for his failures to stand for the best interests of his constituents and his desire to protect coal companies instead.

Meanwhile, Senator Boxer is pushing a resolution demanding TVA actually fulfill the leadership role given them by Congress and for the EPA to start doing their job and start checking the safety of the nation's hundreds of coal ash dump sites and draft new rules to contain these toxic disasters in waiting. Again, RoaneViews has the details.

R. Neal posts that over 100 environmental agencies have signed a letter sent to the EPA likewise demanding changes in coal ash storage:

"The disaster at TVA's Kingston plant dramatized the need for federal standards for safe disposal of these wastes, which are virtually unregulated by the EPA. After eight years of counterproductive backpedaling, we are confident that you will chart a new, responsible course for the Agency by supporting the adoption of standards, whether reflected in legislation or new regulations, that reflect the gravity of the situation and are guided by a consistent set of principles."

Kudos to those elected officials who have been taking action to eliminate and reduce the dangers of these toxic dumps -- but where are Tennessee's federal officials? Sympathetic words and promises make nice media quotes while legislation creating much needed change actually gets the job done. In fact, all of Tennessee's legislature needs to come out of hiding and serve the state by requiring TVA to be accountable for their actions.

TVA Ash Spill Prompts New Senate Hearing To Set New Standards on Thursday

A U.S. Senate sub-committee will hold hearings 10.a.m Thursday to address the lack of oversight and the need for new standards regarding coal ash impoundments, hearings prompted by the December 2008 TVA ash spill which has devastated hundreds of acres in Roane County.

"The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources hearing Thursday will focus on the Coal Ash Reclamation, Environment, and Safety Act of 2009 (H.R. 493).

It would require the Interior Department to set uniform design, engineering and inspection standards for structures like the one that ruptured at TVA's Kingston plant on Dec. 22, damaging homes, knocking down trees and power lines and filling two inlets of the Emory River.

The hearing be webcast live and archived on the Committee's Web site at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/." (via a report in The Tennessean)

Here's a list from the main committee's website of witnesses expected to appear:

Mr. John R. Craynon
Chief
Division of Regulatory Support
Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
Department of the Interior

Ms. Sandy Gruzesky
Director
Division of Water
Department for Environmental Protection
State of Kentucky

Mr. Tom FitzGerald
Director
Kentucky Resources Council

Mr. Davitt McAteer
Vice President for Sponsored Programs
CEO of the Center for Educational Technologies & National Technology Transfer Center
Wheeling Jesuit University

Mr. Nick Akins
Executive Vice President for Generation
American Electric Power Service Corporation

Tom Fitzgerald, as head of the Kentucky Resources Council, spoke before the National Academy of Sciences regarding Coal Combustion Waste in 2005, where he warned:

"What is known concerning the potential toxicity of the leachate from coal combustion ash suggests that a federal floor of management standards is needed.

It is a myth of dangerous proportion to suggest that there is no potential public health and environmental impact of improper management of coal combustion wastes because the wastes are not classified as “hazardous.”

TVA's Coal Ash In Food, Water and The Air

TVA spokesman Gil Francis says he does not think the massive mounds of toxic coal ash spilled into Roane County back in December which are now swirling into the air really exists - he told WATE-TV reporters is was probably just some fog.

The WATE report has video of plumes of ash rising 30 or 40 feet into the air.

Just the sludge alone is highly toxic according to researchers from Duke - though ORNL officials say it is not. Would you want to live in the midst of this disaster? Are folks flocking to the area to snap up real estate on the cheap?

More studies show that toxic materials far exceed what is deemed safe by federal standards. Items of concern include:

* Samples from six locations near or downstream from the ash spill showed levels of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and selenium exceeding Water Quality Criteria established by the Clean Water Act to protect aquatic life and human activity in rivers from dangerous pollution. Only one upriver sample showed high levels of any of these metals; it exceeded the lower, chronic criteria for lead.

* Samples from seven locations downstream of the spill showed levels of one or more heavy metals including antimony, arsenic, beryllium and lead exceeding Primary Drinking Water Standards, with arsenic more than double and copper five times acute toxicity levels. None of the three samples taken upstream exceeded the criteria.

* TVA denied the groups access to wells in the impacted area, so they tested wells east of the site. None of the samples had levels exceeding Primary Drinking Water Standards for heavy metals, but all of the wells had one or more pollutants known to leach from ash including aluminum, iron and manganese at levels exceeding Secondary Drinking Water Standards. The tests also turned up four wells with levels of manganese or sodium -- contaminants found in coal ash -- exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency's health-based advisories.

* The tests also found widely fluctuating arsenic levels in the Emory and Clinch rivers -- some as many as 37 times the Primary Drinking Water Standard. The groups say this could threaten the use of the rivers for drinking water and shows the need for more testing.

Add to this info that more than likely, the stuff you grow to eat is contaminated as well - especially in the South.

"Since the federal government does not classify coal ash as hazardous waste, it doesn't oversee the material's use in agriculture. Jeffrey Stant of the Environmental Integrity Project's Coal Combustion Waste Initiative told EHN that some states have regulations but often do not require monitoring.

He and other environmental health advocates have long called for federal oversight of coal waste. Knowing that this toxic stuff could end up in the vegetables we're eating only adds to the regulatory urgency."

Remember the Senate hearings on this disaster back in January? Remember the promises of more investigation to come? I suppose that was the real fog.

As for TVA -- they do not want to talk about how deadly and toxic that spill really was -- "we just want to clean it up" says TVA.

And in today's Knoxville News Sentinel, one resident continues to see problems with little sign of real progress:

"[Resident Larry] Richards said he's worried about TVA's plan to dredge the Emory and dump sludge next to the channel where ash previously was moved from the steam plant to the holding pond. "They're taking bad material from one side of the river and putting it on the other side of the river," he said. "They're creating the same problem all over again."

Problems Grow for TVA's Ash Spill

Keeping up with the ongoing developments --

Gov. Bredesen says TVA must pay back the state for it's ongoing costs in clean-up and testing for the massive spill of toxic ash in Roane County - just as TVA is saying they are already laying out $1 million in their own costs for the clean-up.

"I am committed to making sure this spill is cleaned up and doing everything we can to prevent any similar situation in the future," Gov. Phil Bredesen said in a statement. "I'm also committed to making sure Tennessee taxpayers don't foot the bill. This order requires TVA to reimburse the Department of Environment and Conservation for expenses incurred overseeing cleanup and further investigative activities."

WATE-TV is broadcasting an hour-long special tonight on the disaster and offers a chance for you to submit questions and hear some answers from TVA and other agencies. They also report seeing clean-up crews 6 miles away from the original site.

Sen. Boxer says new regulations are long overdue when it comes to controls for the ash ponds at coal plants and that reviews at all sites must take place now:

"Boxer said her resolution also will request that the EPA immediately regulate coal ash once the agency has completed that review.

"This is the most neglected area," Boxer said. "I myself apologized for not getting on this sooner, so I'm going to be all over this."

Sen. Corker says TVA ratepayers will bear all the costs of cleanups, with no federal aid, even though TVA is a federally owned utility.

"I hate it for the ratepayers of TVA, but this is their responsibility."

More info on the real-time problems and questions from one resident who is "trapped in a nightmare". "Sick and getting sicker," she writes.

The lawsuits continue.

Another video on the impact (via Southern Beale):

TVA Has More Spills, Sen. Boxer Demands Review

Another TVA spill from their coal-fired Widow's Creek plant in Alabama -- that makes for three "accidents" in less than a month. TVA officials called the Alabama incident a "leak" which poured out 10,000 gallons from a gypsum waste pond - some going into the Tennessee River. This is the same plant that TVA's Inspector General cited in a report from last year for failure to address the constant problem of leakage -

"The report says little consideration was given by TVA officials of reporting the "continuous nature and extent of the leaks" to Alabama environmental authorities."

Sen. Barbara Boxer of California told the press that the agency needs a full review and needs it now:

"The Tennessee Valley Authority has a lot to answer for - the first step is to prevent further spills and damage to communities around its plants. I have asked the TVA for a complete assessment of the safety of its waste disposal sites and their plans for upgrading those sites. This second pollution spill must be a wake up message to the TVA and to the U.S. EPA that the current situation is unacceptable."

In a KNS story on this incident, TVA officials say they did conduct a review of all of their waste ponds and found they were "all in good shape."

Also the state has cited TVA for failing to comply with regulations when they allowed for the release of sludge into the Ocoee River this week, a story which KnoxViews has been tracking.

Sen. Boxer's committee heard testimony this week on TVA's handling of their first accident back on Dec. 22nd (links to the hearing and testimony here). But as noted at Facing South, TVA's CEO just did not have much info on what the status of their waste ponds might be, or even how many there are:

"Asked how many ash ponds TVA had in use, for example, Kilgore said he didn't know. He also didn't know why the company opted for dry storage at some facilities and wet at others, or that TVA had previously fought federal environmental enforcement efforts. And he said he was unaware that a 2007 federal assessment documented three TVA sites with proven damage from coal ash pollution.

Kilgore also demonstrated what appeared to be a basic misunderstanding of critical coal waste handling issues. Asked whether he would be willing to utilize the same strict waste-management practices for his ash impoundments that govern landfills for ordinary household trash, he responded that his company was investing hundreds of millions of dollars in new air scrubbers for the Kingston plant.

"That's wonderful, and we all applaud that, but that gives us even more ash," said an exasperated Boxer. "I'm asking about safe disposal of ash."

Kilgore replied noncommittally that TVA would "look at several options."


While Governor Bredesen has called for far more state regulatory controls over TVA, it seems their current system is in dire need of immediate attention right now. When will the rest of Tennessee's state and federal representatives call for action? How many "accidents" will it take? Why hasn't TVA's own board called for intense reviews of their federally-owned utility?

Senate Takes On TVA Ash Spill

Ash spill really is not the phrase needed to describe the massive enviromental and economic disaster that struck Roane County on Dec. 22, but for now it will do. The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer, held a hearing today on the disaster and took testimony from TVA CEO Tom Kilgore, the county EMA Director Howie Rose and Dr. Stephen Smith with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

The committee website has video of the entire hearing at this link. (RealPlayer needed)

Sen. Boxer said in an opening statement:

"Over 130 million tons of coal combustion waste is produced in the U.S. every year. This is the equivalent of a train of boxcars stretching from Washington, D.C. to Melbourne, Australia.

A 2007 US EPA report found 67 ash impoundments or landfills in 23 states that had caused or were suspected of causing contamination, including to ground or surface waters. EPA knew of dozens of other sites but lacked sufficient information to single out the cause.

For nearly three decades, EPA has been looking at the issue of how to regulate combustion waste. The federal government has the power to regulate these wastes, and inaction has allowed this enormous volume of toxic material to go largely unregulated. State efforts are very inconsistent, and as more and more toxic material is removed from coal combustion, it is critically important that protective standards for coal ash waste be established."

The testimony of Dr. Smith offers some of the best advice on what happened and how to prevent such disasters in the future -- I hope both the federal and the state government decide to enact strict regulations for these highly toxic collection sites. He noted:

"News reports and my organization’s preliminary investigation indicate that this could and should have been avoided. Shortcuts have been taken, rules were waved or broken and accountability has been absent; this was not a natural disaster this was a manmade disaster.

It is clear that, in its early response, TVA prioritized public relations over public health and has largely been overwhelmed by the size of this spill, which appears to be the largest industrial spill in our nation’s history.

The force of this accident not only ripped homes off their foundations—it also ripped the lid off of a national problem and the failure of EPA to develop minimum standards for this waste. It is outrageous that the landfills holding our household garbage are more regulated than the pits holding this toxic coal sludge.

Today I call on your committee to at a minimum:
1: Require an orderly phase out all wet storage of toxic coal ash;
2: Require EPA to immediately inspect and monitor all toxic coal ash storage and disposal units; and
3: Develop the long-promised Federal regulation of all toxic coal ash storage and disposal by year’s end.

TVA was born out of crippling economic times. As we find ourselves again in similar difficult times, this is an opportunity to remake TVA for the 21st Century.

Online folks also reported on the hearing -- Southern Beale - Part1 and Part 2, Aunt B. and Nashville Is Talking has a roundup. Local news station WATE takes on the story as well. The Knoxville News Sentinel's coverage is collected here.

Also, as Sen. Boxer has said, just covering the toxic ash spilled onto the riverbanks and yards for several hundred acres with grass seed is not a cleanup solution for the long-term. Much work is ahead and TVA has every reason to develop better methods when it comes to burning coal - demand better regulation for their protection and the safety of Tennessee residents, and to show they have a viable role in the energy business for this century.

Sen. Boxer also says more hearings on this issue are being planned.

(Background posts on this event are all tagged TVA spill if you want more information.)

UPDATE: R. Neal at KnoxViews has been reporting on another release of sludge, this time on the Ocoee River - here and here. And more lawsuits ahead on the disaster in Roane County.

More Bad News of Effects From TVA Toxic Spill

I hated reading the following entry this morning from the blogger at Life on Swan Pond after TVA ... who lives in the midst of the massive coal sludge disaster in Roane County. The following was posted on Thursday:

"My Grandson became sick yesterday... Cough.... stuffy nose.... sneezing..... flushed..... didn't want to eat..... not wanting to nap either....

It was windy yesterday just like the day before... and the ash had to be flying.

I took him to the ER as recommended by his physician. I took the information that TVA had given me, as well as a MSDS sheet about fly ash.

He had to endure a nasal wash & suction, x-rays, monitoring of his oxygen levels. The conclusion? Irritation from the fly ash, specifically airborne.

TVA is aware, and we are currently at a local hotel. The Doctor recommended that he not go home... we not go home....avoid the area altogether.

I didn't realize how I would feel once someone told me I couldn't go home. I didn't sink in until this morning. Due to the stress and the lack of sleep... I began to meltdown. "don't go home".... keeps rolling through my head.

No, we didn't lose our home to visible damage.... but we can't go home."

I also fear more such problems will be apparent in coming days and weeks and months as TVA tries to clean up after a billion-plus gallons of toxic coal sludge washed over the surrounding land and water covering hundreds of acres.

(NOTE: To readers searching for posts here on this event - I have tagged all the related posts with "TVA spill" and if you'll click on that tag, all posts will be collected for you to read.)

I see too today that my post yesterday cheering the bloggers and others outside the mainstream press for really providing a constant supply of information on this event and the aftermath is sparking some reaction. Michael Silence takes issue with my assertion, and I'll be the first to note that his blog at the Knoxville News Sentinel has been very active on this story. However, I stand by my post and would point you to this response by R. Neal at KnoxViews, who has cataloged the online activity and how the media followed on those reports on many issues of the disaster.

And more important -- every voice is needed to tell this story.

This disaster has devastating consequences for East Tennessee. And I don't write about it for any other reason than I fear the nasty business may just get pushed away as part of a revolving news cycle. This is a life-changing event for those who live nearby and those who use the rivers in East Tennessee. Plus it has vital connections to every decision made from here on in on the fundamental operations of the coal-burning industry in America. Critical improvements must be made -- or it will happen again. The time to take action is today, not next time.

Governor Calls For More TVA Oversight; Senate To Hold Hearings

Without the commitment of many bloggers, environmental activists, and the efforts of residents directly affected by the enormous disaster from TVA's coal ash spill on December 22nd, then I doubt there would have been the type of response to the event seen on Dec. 31st. While it is true the national and local media did finally jump into the game several days after the event, it was the reporting done by online writers at the local and regional level which kept this giant disaster from slipping into the deep background.

The response from Tennessee's governor Phil Bredesen, 9 days after the huge wave of toxic coal sludge poured into the Tennessee Valley, is encouraging. He's calling for greater participation and independent oversight on how TVA works and how they handle toxic waste:

"You get a sense of how big, how terrifying, it must have been."

While the TVA handles the cleanup and workers from state environmental and health agencies monitor for signs of short-term or long-term danger, Bredesen called for a much more aggressive role for the state in future environmental monitoring.

The governor called for inspections of all of TVA's retention ponds and a thorough review of state environmental regulations, with an eye toward taking back some of the responsibilities it may have ceded to federal authorities. Right now, for example, TVA inspects its own facilities. That could change, he said.

"TVA is a federal agency, and over the years there may have been an exaggerated deference paid to federal agencies," he said, noting that many of the state's environmental regulations were written in the 1970s."

And he was smart enough by Dec. 31st to make sure his presence and complaints were aired on CNN, via the local Knoxville TV station WVLT. (Several videos of the press conference are on the site.) UPDATE: Christian at NashvilleIsTalking has the video and full transcript of the press conference.

U.S. Senate hearings on the matter will also be held - and I think the committee will hear some astonishing and very intelligent discussion of the issues involved as they've asked Dr. Stephen Smith, with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, to testify. He's one of the most informed people in the region on public safety in environmental issues, saying things which need to be said, regardless of the implications to a company's profit margin.

It is most fortunate that the area is not heavily populated, or I am sure there would have been fatalities at the scene. Still, the damage done has altered the area forever, no matter what clean-up takes place.

Thank god for the bloggers across the state and the region who would not give up their constant efforts to inform Tennesseans and the nation about this massive toxic disaster. They made sure the press got involved, and the press helped put pressure on state and national leaders. Much remains to be done, but if the promises are kept, millions of Americans could be safer than they are today.

Few Answers About Toxic Spill In East Tennessee

Nearly a week after a massive toxic coal ash spill coated hundreds of acres and waterways with over a billion gallons of sludge, officials from TVA met with community members and activists and press reps to try and answer questions. TVA's CEO and President Tom Kilgore was there to answer questions.

One resident who has been blogging about the catastrophe here at Life on Swan Pond has details of the Q and A,

"Water testing; testing started quickly, and continues every 2 hours. Other testing independently being done by EPA and others.

Air quality testing; only done at the TVA Plant. Will begin placing testing equipment in other areas soon... (no clear date/time set, and as I posted before they have not done any Air Quality Testing in locations where there is Ash debris.

Were there emergency plans in place: not for something of this magnitude of ash.

What is in the ash? Mr. Kilgore will have to research and post the results on TVA's website. (yet they sell this ash.. but don't know what's in it?)

What is the dangers of ash? Mr. Kilgore stated they have employees that work in it everyday.. but didn't say that those individuals wore protective gear.

A family that was directly impacted by loss of pasture lands spoke about the loss other their lively-hood and that they had not heard anything from TVA. Mr. Kilgore said they would help, buy hay, etc., and to contact TVA.

What are the dangers of the water for my dogs one resident asked.... after alot of avoiding the direct questions, the resident finally asked bluntly if he should keep his dogs away from the water... the answer was yes.

A family with an expectant mom who is 7 months pregnant asked if it was safe for her to be there... as they have the spill literally in their backyard... again.... no definitive answer. Come by the office if you have questions was often the answer given."

For most all of those in the area, real concerns remain. And if you are like me, you would want to leave the area immediately. When I'm told to "try not to breathe in" the airborne toxins in the environment, it means it is time to leave that area immediately. But how can people keep their jobs and protect their homes and property? And what sense does it make to stay and try and work around a toxic disaster in the hopes it will all work out for the best?

We've had lots of sunshine and fairly warm temps for the last week, which means that the ash will be drying quickly and getting into the air just as quick. So millions of cubic yards of cancer-causing particles will be on any surface that collects dust and dirt and in the air thousands of Tennesseans could be breathing.

If I lived there and had children, I would make them relocate - but what happens when schools in the area re-start in a few days? Livestock and wildlife and the ground and the water will be in harm's way for some time to come. With no clear answers yet on the levels of toxins - what to do? Stay and wait and find out later it is too toxic an area to stay in?

I read too that the EPA reports that many agencies are working on this disaster - "Unified Command consists of EPA, the Roane County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), Tennessee EMA, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and the Tennessee Valley Authority."

But who is in charge at "Unified Command"? Someone from TVA? And where are the elected officials in Tennessee who are talking about this, pushing for answers and demanding actions be taken to insure safety? Kudos to the Kingston City Council for putting the meeting last night together. When Senator Bob Corker appeared on ABC Sunday morning, the disaster got a "sorry we are out of time" response.

And a hotline apparently became available today for residents -- a week after the event.

When something of this magnitude hits the response should be obvious - evacuate the residents and get everyone, even those in the outlying areas, to safety.

And since TVA has admitted they never had any plan for such a possible event as this, then elected officials and residents need to demand plans be created. If this were a commercial company, fines and firings and other changes would apply, would they not?

TVA's Toxic Coal Ash Disaster Impact May Last Years

The nearly 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash which surged across hundreds of acres in Roane County and into local waterways this week will have an unknowable impact on lives for an unknown time.

There are no regulations in place to document what deadly materials go into these lagoons - despite pleas for years for unified national standards. Much of the reason TVA has not been able to define the dangers of this spill is because they didn't know themselves what was in the lagoon nor were they even sure of the total amount of materials which was stored in the site.

Sue Sturgis reports at Facing South about the testimony presented to a congressional hearing in June from attorney Lisa Evans which was a clear warning about the inevitable effects of not regulating the hazardous waste created from burning coal:

"[S]he warned that the federal government's broken pledge to regulate disposal of the potentially dangerous material threatened the health and safety of communities across the country.

Speaking before a June 10 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Natural Resources titled "How Should the Federal Government Address the Health and Environmental Risks of Coal Combustion Waste?," Evans pointed out that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in its Regulatory Determination on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels published in 2000 that federal standards for disposal of coal combustion waste were needed to protect public health and the environment.

The federal failure to regulate the waste has put 23 states -- including Tennessee -- in a special bind, since their statutes have "no more stringent" provisions prohibiting them from enacting standards stricter than those found in federal law. Without federal action, those states can't regulate coal combustion waste disposal beyond the few obviously inadequate safeguards that now exist."

Sturgis goes on to report that highly radioactive materials created in the burning process can be deadly:

" ... waste containing potentially dangerous levels of heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, as well as radioactive elements such as uranium and thorium -- impurities typically found in coal.

While the company (TVA) is downplaying the hazardous nature of the material, telling the New York Times that it's "inert" and "not toxic or anything," an assessment by the Environmental Protection Agency found that the risk of getting cancer from coal ash lagoons is 10,000 times greater than safety standards allow."

Months of cleanup are ahead, and once the currently wet spill begins to dry, then the toxic materials turn into dust which is then transmitted by airflow.

Dr. Stephen Smith, Executive Director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, writes in a press release:

"SACE believes that TVA, TDEC and the EPA should be erring on the side of caution and encouraging residents and others at the site to avoid bodily contact with the ash, which when dried can become airborne. Along with the lead and thallium officially found in the ash, there is a strong probability that levels of arsenic, cadmium and potentially mercury will be found.”

Dr. Smith continued by stressing that safety precautions should be taken by residents in the affected area.

“This is clearly one of the most severe environmental disasters of East Tennessee,” Smith said. “There are multiple pathways in which people can become potentially affected by these heavy metals, including bodily contact, drinking water, air pathways and aquatic wildlife and fish, and we feel that appropriate warnings should be expressed to ensure the safety of Tennessee residents.”

State bloggers, such as Enclave, have noted a massive absence of government response to this disaster:

"The silence of Tennessee's elected officials indicates to me that TVA is actually in the cat bird's seat, and they are in little danger of being held accountable for these events. I fully expect Senators Corker and Alexander (as well as Governor Phil Bredesen) to get behind a new initiative under the pretense of clean-up to convert and to expand TVA's plant and political power in Roane County."


From Christian Grantham at Nashville Is Talking:

"Actually, if you read some of the reports about the smaller coal waste spill in 2000, you'll see the damage spread over weeks through at least a hundred miles of tributaries and streams. TVA says it's taking precautions to prevent this from entering the Tennessee River, but anyone with a brain can see that short of building a dam, that will be impossible.

What it appears TVA is focusing more on (and you can see this in their own online accounts, news reports and releases) is clearing the way for more coal to reach the plant. The troubling fact that TVA is making a calculated decision to use their assets to clear the way for more coal rather than using 100% of their assets to prevent further ecological damage is noted."

From a recent Roane County newspaper report, the Kingston Plant has been slowly converting to a new process to 'scrub' waste emissions which will result in the creation of gypsum ponds, however:

"We want to make it clear we’re spending $500 million to clean up the environment. It is not a bad thing, but it is clearly a visible thing,” TVA spokeswoman Barbara Martocci said.
Officials had hoped to find a market, such as drywall, for the gypsum byproduct of the new scrubber. The slowing economy has ground those possibilities to a halt. “They (the marketplace) have more gypsum than they know what to do with,” said Martocci."

In another recent report from the Roane County News, business designed to create cleaner-burning fuel are just a losing proposition as oil prices - for the moment - have fallen:

"The shuttering of Wright’s company, Blue Sky Biodiesel, won’t wreck the local economy. He had just three employees including himself, but the demise of the business has left him financially and emotionally scarred.
“I’m just kind of down in the dumps right now,” Wright said. “I tapped into my savings in order to make this work.
Wright said his business wasn’t just about profit.Wright said he felt like he was on the front lines of the much-touted fight to energy independence, whipping up batches of biodiesel for use in diesel engines.
“None of us are rich,” he said. “We were all just people with ideas trying to get things done.”

Seems the powers that be are slow to seek changes, and seek instead to continue to rely on the fictions of "clean coal technology" and unreal hopes that fossil fuel - regardless of economic costs and environmental destruction - is a magical creation which serves only to fulfill wishes and dreams.

NBC news did finally lead their nightly report from the scene in the Harriman community on Friday:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Toxic Spill Threatens East Tennessee

Writers in the blogging world have been hard at work gathering and reporting information from the enormous environmental disaster which saw millions and millions of cubic yards of toxic coal sludge from TVA's Kingston power plant bring destruction across the Roane County countryside and into East Tennessee waterways. (NOTE: Please see my latest update here.)

The first estimate from TVA claimed just over a million cubic yards had roared across the area following the collapse of a dike wall holding back the coal ash waste. Today, they tripled that amount, again "estimating" the total was more like 5.4 million cubic yards.

Some of the best coverage can be found at Enclave - who has been hard at work gathering details, including how the major networks and cable news television totally missed the story and then decided it was newsworthy after all. He also notes United Mountain Defense Report which reports accidents at the site have been common in recent months:

"It maintains that Kingston residents told their correspondents that TVA dealt with leaks in the ash pond wall in 2004, 2006, and a month and a half ago. TVA officials originally speculated that recent excess rain and abnormally low temperatures were possible causes of the breach."

The NYTimes reports:

"Federal studies have long shown coal ash to contain significant quantities of heavy metals like 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.

Gilbert Francis Jr., a spokesman for the authority: “It does have some heavy metals within it, but it’s not toxic or anything.”

Mr. Francis said contaminants in water samples taken near the spill site and at the intake for the town of Kingston, six miles downstream, were within acceptable levels.

But a draft report last year by the federal Environmental Protection Agency found that fly ash, a byproduct of the burning of coal to produce electricity, does contain significant amounts of carcinogens and retains the heavy metal present in coal in far higher concentrations. The report found that the concentrations of arsenic to which people might be exposed through drinking water contaminated by fly ash could increase cancer risks several hundredfold.

Similarly, a 2006 study by the federally chartered National Research Council found that these coal-burning byproducts “often contain a mixture of metals and other constituents in sufficient quantities that they may pose public health and environmental concerns if improperly managed.” The study said “risks to human health and ecosystems” might occur when these contaminants entered drinking water supplies or surface water bodies.

In 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed stricter federal controls of coal ash, but backed away in the face of fierce opposition from utilities, the coal industry, and Clinton administration officials. At the time, the Edison Electric Institute, an association of power utilities, estimated that the industry would have to spend up to $5 billion in additional cleanup costs if the substance were declared hazardous. Since then, environmentalists have urged tighter federal standards, and the E.P.A. is reconsidering its decision not to classify the waste as hazardous.

Another 2007 E.P.A. report said that over about a decade, 67 towns in 26 states had their groundwater contaminated by heavy metals from such dumps.

For instance, in Anne Arundel County, Md., between Baltimore and Annapolis, residential wells were polluted by heavy metals, including thallium, cadmium and arsenic, leaching from a sand-and-gravel pit where ash from a local power plant had been dumped since the mid-1990s by the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company."

At the Knoxville News Sentinel, blogger Michael Silence has more, as does the KNS' Jack Lail.

RoaneViews writers are also on the story.

There are many questions about current safety, officials ever-changing stories and what -if any - health issues are being aggressively pursued. Since TVA's CEO just earned a record multi-million dollar salary, let's see if he is worth it. As Senator Lamar Alexander told the press in October when news of the massive pay raise was made:

"The TVA board should be sensitive to keeping its costs down, especially at a time when Tennesseans are hurting,” he said. “But TVA is the largest utility in the country and it’s got to recruit competent people to run the agency, including its nuclear plants, and it need pay them a competitive wage in order to keep them."

Many people are truly in peril today due to this massive disaster, Mr. Senator. And let's hope like hell competence is the least of their virtues.