Largest Recorded Spill of Fly Ash Slurry in Tennessee

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Tennessee Fly Ash Slurry Spill Largest Recorded

On December 22, 2008 in Roane County, Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant had a dike rupture releasing more the 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash into the Emory River. There were no recorded deaths or serious injuries , but the surrounding ecosystem was affected severely. The ash slurry contained heavy metals such as arsenic, barium, chromium, mercury, nickel and many more, all of which were released directly into water the ways. Preliminary tests of drinking water showed that the toxins did not affect it, however later individual organizations tests show high amounts of arsenic and other toxins in the water. Officials say that the discrepancy is due to original water test being done before the polluted water had a chance to reach Tennessee Valley Authority, water treatment plant. Authorities claim that the reason for the dam failure was due to the high rain fall and subzero temperatures. However, local residents are saying that they’d observed leakages ever since the plant was opened, as well as...

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