Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) repeatedly told Penny Dodson that she and her 18-month-old grandson Evan would be safe. They live near the utility’s Kingston, Tennessee, plant where in December a coal ash pond failed and poured more than a billion gallons of toxic material on to 300 acres of rural property and into Emory River. But when Evan started having trouble breathing, Penny took him to the doctor, who tested him for heavy metals.

“When I got the results I was horrified,” Penny said to News Channel 5. “It showed that Evan has increased levels of arsenic and lead and other heavy metal in his system. … They said that his problem was due to the airborne fly ash in the community. He was directly impacted, and we were told that we would have to leave the area.”

The toxic mud and sludge that poured on to the east Tennessee community destroying homes and damaging property in its wake, contained potential toxins such as arsenic, lead, barium, chromium and manganese. Problems associated with those materials include cancer, liver damage and neurological complications.

Last week, TVA acknowledged that the spill was worse than initially reported, calling it a “catastrophe.” Lawmakers are looking into the cleanup efforts, which some are calling too slow. Those efforts include building temporary dams to stop the flow into neighboring bodies of water and dusting the area with grass seeds to keep the coal ash from becoming airborne. The cleanup could cost the utility as much as $825 million and the toll on wildlife and plant life – and ultimately, human life – is yet to be known. But some, like Penny, say the worst damage already has been done.

“I carry guilt because we stayed, because I was told that we were going to be safe, and I believed them, and it’s not true – we are not safe,” she said.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 5:46 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.