Utility Doubles Estimate of Tennessee Ash Deluge

[babylonsister]

Utility Doubles Estimate of Tennessee Ash Deluge

by Kristin M. Hall


The aftermath of a retention wall collapse is seen, Monday, Dec. 22, 2008, in Harriman, Tenn. A retention pond wall collapsed early Monday morning at a power plant run by the nation's largest public utility, releasing a frigid mix of water and ash that flooded 15 homes nearby. (AP Photo/The Knoxville News Sentinel, J. Miles Cary)


About 5.4 million cubic yards of coal fly ash, a byproduct of burning coal, broke out of a retention pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant, Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman John Moulton said.

The TVA, which as the nation's largest utility company supplies electricity to 8.8 million people, first estimated that Monday's breach had spilled less than half that amount.

State environmental officials said Friday that their tests found the ash had not caused any problems near the intake for the local water treatment plant.

Moulton said TVA's first tests also showed no threat to the area's drinking water. The spill damaged 12 homes and covered 300 acres with sludge in Harriman, about 35 miles west of Knoxville.

"We are cleaning it up," he said. "That's where our efforts are focused and we are making some headway. Both on land and in the water, we are containing it and skimming it off the water."

State officials were also trying to stem the flow of the ash by building a submerged dam, or weir, across the channel of the Emory River to allow water to flow while catching the ash at the bottom.

Christopher Copeland, a resident whose land is covered in ash and debris, said he is not drinking the local water and is keeping his children inside until he can send them to a relative's house, "because I don't feel comfortable with them around here."

TVA "has done nothing to address our issues," Copeland said by phone Friday from his home on a road partially closed because of the spill.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/12/27-4

[acmavm]

1. I here was just sitting here wondering when the last time was that a

company/corporation responsible for a catastrophic environmental disaster ever gave and accurate, reliable, and true discription of the damages when it first occurs. Not like they don't know what they have stored, right? Not that they don't monitor their containment apparatus constantly, right? They did hop right up and apologize to the community, the state, and everyone who cares about this planet for their 'spill', right?

[Kalyke]

2. TVA isn't really a corporation - they are a quasi-governmental agency.

[acmavm]

3. Yeah, but you get my drift. It's not a 'company' either. What is it called?

edit: You are right. But I refer to our local electrical utility thingey as a 'company' as well. I suppose they're not really.

And who would have thunk that a 'company' run by our government (is that a better description?) would not tell the truth straight out of the gate?