More than a billion gallons -- some 5.4 million cubic yards -- of coal ash sludge broke through an earthen dam at the Kingston Fossil Plan some 40 miles west of Knoxville flooding the nearby Emory River and swamping many homes and properties nearby. A billion gallons of coal ash sludge can flood more than 3000 acres one foot deep, according to the New York Times, "Tennessee Ash Flood Larger Than Initially Estimated." The spill is the worst environmental disaster of its kind, exceeding recent, similar spills in 2000 of approximately 300 million gallons in Martin County, Kentucky and in 2005 in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, which dumped about 100 million gallons into the Delaware River.
A draft report of the Environmental Protection Agency found that coal ash contained significant amounts of carcinogens. Coal ash is also known to contain high levels of arsenic, lead and selenium, all of which are known to contribute to neurological problems in humans.
Robert L. Abell
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