In this image provided by Greenpeace, the broken containment pond in Harriman, Tenn., that sent a billion gallons of toxic coal ash sludge into the Emory River and surrounding lands is shown at right center adjacent to the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant. (AP Photo/Greeenpeace, Wade Payne)
What exactly is the toxic sludge that spilled in Tennessee?
By Eoin O'Carroll | 12.31.08
On Dec. 22, a holding wall at a waste pond at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant in Harriman, Tenn., collapsed, dumping more than a billion gallons of slurry over more than 300 acres, in what some are calling the largest environmental disaster in US history.
But what exactly is this stuff, and what effects will it have on the environment?
The sludge was a mixture of water and fly ash, a residue that is captured in the chimneys of coal-fired power plants. Fly ash is distinguished from bottom ash, which is removed from the bottom of the furnace.
Fly ash is mostly made of fine, hollow, glassy particles of silica, the most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust, as well as aluminum oxide, iron oxide, and lime, a white crystalline solid that humans have used for thousands of years. When airborne, some of types of silica particles have been found to be potentially harmful to people’s lungs.
But more worrisome are the trace concentrations of toxic metals – including arsenic, lead, barium, and chromium – that scientists think may damage the liver and nervous system and cause cancer. The ash also contains uranium and thorium, both radioactive elements. Ounce for ounce, fly ash delivers more radiation into the environment than shielded nuclear waste.
In the past, fly ash was simply belched out of smokestacks and into the air, but this practice halted with increased clean-air regulations and the discovery in the 1930s that the ash was useful in making cement. Since then, the ash has been deposited in surface impoundments, where it is stored in dry form or, as with the Kingston Fossil Plant, combined with water to form a gray gooey sludge.
In 2000, following an accidental release of 306 million gallons of waste from coal mining that befouled rivers and soil in Eastern Kentucky, the Environmental Protection Agency recommended that coal waste be regulated as a hazardous substance. The agency backed down in the face of industry opposition, agreeing instead to issue federal guidelines for disposal. These guidelines were never issued. [Eoin’s note: The original version mischaracterized the materials spilled in Kentucky.]
The much-larger TVA spill, which is estimated to be 40 times bigger in volume than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, has flowed into the Emory and Clinch Rivers, tributaries of the Tennessee River. Local news media report that dead fish now line the banks of the Clinch near the site of the spill. Authorities say that they have found elevated arsenic levels in water near the spill, but they maintain that the local tap water is safe because arsenic and other potentially toxic elements are removed during water treatment. They have, however, cautioned against drinking well water in the area.
The New York Times, which has been covering this story extensively, found that in a single year, the Kingston plant’s byproducts include “45,000 pounds of arsenic, 49,000 pounds of lead, 1.4 million pounds of barium, 91,000 pounds of chromium and 140,000 pounds of manganese.”
According to the Times, local residents have faulted authorities for failing to release more results of water and soil samples. So far, officials have released results for only two samples, both taken from drinking water upstream of the spill, which was deemed safe.
According to The Tennessean, officials said that the magnitude of the spill could qualify it to become a federally declared Superfund site. These statements suggest that the cleanup process, which has already begun, could take years to complete.
The paper notes that the Kingston plant continues to operate, with the fly ash being sent to one of the two remaining containment ponds.
<< Tennessee spill revives coal ash controversy | MainComments
2. Sam | 01.01.09
I found it interesting that the govenor, visiting the spill site after more than a week, made this remark:
“People shouldn’t be scared of the stuff.” “This is not a high-level waste like radioactive waste,” Bredesen said, although he cautioned that residents who touch the ash should wash their hands with hot, soapy water. “The greater danger is to air quality than it is for the mud itself”..
Contrast that to the statement in this article:
“But more worrisome are the trace concentrations of toxic metals - including arsenic, lead, barium, and chromium - that scientists think may damage the liver and nervous system and cause cancer. The ash also contains uranium and thorium, both radioactive elements. Ounce for ounce, fly ash delivers more radiation into the environment than shielded nuclear waste.”
So, is fly ash it a high level radioactive waste (CSM) or is it not? (Governor of Tennessee)
3. Rick | 01.01.09
Our governor did not tour the grounds other than what TVA took him to. And he repeated what TVA officials told him. I live here. I’ve seen it every day. Our Senators have been absent.The water samples were taken down river, not acroos river where all of the sludge went. Look, I see what is going on first-hand. We were told by TVA chairman that it will be cleaned up. Things will be fixed. They fixed the tracks for the coal to come in. They fixed the road so the school buses can run. The rest of the fix was announced today. They are going to level it off as best as they can, clear debree from the main river banks, the cover everything else with fertilizer, grass seed, and straw. Some places will NEVER have water where water has always been. Oh, and the results of the true water testing will be made public. It is already in. Trust me, I am no big environmentalist, but I am a resident here. If it isn’t so bad, then why is Erin Brokovich coming here next week?
4. Michael Evenson | 01.02.09
If you want to see what it looks like as observed by neighbors, go to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_fpiZpSJkU&feature=email
This is an impact that is going to take a very long time, measured in human lifetimes, to work its way through the river system and then it will be a problem in the Atlantic Ocean.
The answer to our energy problem is simply, “smaller is better.” Pollution comes from the concentration of elements and compounds that can harm life. The bigger the pile of waste, the more likely that pile is to get “out” into the public trust resources we value, like rivers and the ocean.
Decentalize power. Put solar panels on every roof, insulate every home, design factories and houses so that they use passive solar gain and need less energy to work.
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1. Jill Miller Zimon | 12.31.08
I would only like to add that coverage of this disaster began with great diligence on platforms like Twitter and through the assistance of residents who took on roles as citizen journalists. Those of us who started following it within hours of when it happened were happy to have it on the front page of the NYT, but that paper did not pick it up for at least two-three days and when it did, didn’t give a great sense of when it had happened.
However, I do appreciate your coverage and please take note of these two recent developments:
1. The U.S. Senate committee on the Environment and Public Works will be having a hearing next week on the spill. TN Senior Senator Lamar Alexander is on that committee and someone should check from whom he gets money to see what conflicts might exist.
http://www.southernstudies.org/2008/12/us-senate-calls-hearing-on-tenn-coal-ash-disaster.html
2. The TN Governor is saying that the water will be monitored every day, indefinitely, and that the results will be posted on the Web within 24 hours of being taken (I assume it’s of being taken but it’s not clear).
http://www.wate.com/global/story.asp?s=9601106