Laurel to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, The Tennessean, and The Post and Courier for strong reporting on the coal-ash spill in Harriman, Tennessee.
On December 22, a forty-acre elevated retention pond, which stored more than a billion gallons of fly-ash sludge, a byproduct of coal combustion, ruptured, leaking its contents over some three hundred acres, including into the Emory and Clinch rivers. In addition to the physical force of the spill, which destroyed several homes, the ash contained arsenic and other toxic compounds. The effect on the area was best captured by a strong package of aerial photographs by The Tennessean, which showed readers the full extent of the damage.
As cleanup began, the Chattanooga Times Free Press dug deeper, analyzing inspection records to show that authorities had known of the pond’s structural vulnerabilities prior to the rupture. The Press also reported that the Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate the toxic ash because it does not classify the material as hazardous. Thirteen hundred such ponds around the U.S. store the country’s fly ash; 72 million tons of ash were generated in 2007, according to the American Coal Ash Association.
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Some corrections to this story are in order.
The article implies that arsenic present in ash is unique to this material. In fact arsenic and other "toxic compounds" are naturally occur in soils around the country at approximately the same level as found in ash.
The description of ash as "toxic" is not backed by any data. The "toxic" description has been loosely applied by media and advocacy groups opposed to coal fired electrical generation. That the EPA has previously determined ash not to be hazardous is evidence that the toxic description does not apply.
There are not 1300 such sites around the U.S.. The site at Kingston is a wet disposal site. There are approximately 300 such sites around the country. The remainder are "dry" disposal sites.
In 2007 there were approximately 130 million tons of coal combustion products generated, not 72 million. Of that total 43% were used beneficially in reducing green house gass emissions, reducing disposal, and reducing mining of virgin materials.
Posted by Thomas H. Adams on Tue 7 Apr 2009 at 11:12 AM
Because the fly and bottom ash were stored in water for decades, the toxins leached into the water, exceeding the standard for water by tens of times, as EPA reported If it had been kept dry, this would not have happened and the ash would not have been rendered unmarketable.
Mr. Adams is correct to point out that other utilities and TVA sites do store ash dry and recycle it.
That's what makes this "catastrophe" (Tom Kilgore TVA CEO) all the more unacceptable. TVA knew the ash was leaking. Inspections showed that the fixes were not effective in reducing internal water pressure, but they failed to act to prevent this spill.
The press listed, together with the Knoxville News Sentinel and channel 6 WATE have done a commendable job of reporting on the catastrophe, its impact on people, and deserve to be noticed.
Posted by Charlie Smith on Tue 7 Apr 2009 at 03:06 PM