Residents near coal ash spill sign up for free medical screenings
August 27th, 2009 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
More than 100 people in Tennessee are concerned enough about their health following a massive coal ash spill in their community that they have signed up for free medical screenings. These are people who lived in or around Kingston, Tennessee last December when a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal ash impoundment pond burst, sending 1.1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash on to 300 acres of neighboring property and into the Emory River.
That spill destroyed homes and damaged property and forced officials to hang signs warning people against swimming in nearby waters or eating fish caught in them. The threat of the coal ash drying and flying into the air caused more concern from residents who worried breathing traces of fly ash might harm them.
Coal ash contains dangerous toxins such as arsenic, lead, barium, chromium and manganese which may lead to health problems such as cancer, liver damage and neurological complications. Currently, the TVA is involved in a massive cleanup that is expected to cost the nation’s largest utility nearly $1 billion. The TVA estimates that the cleanup effort will be completed by spring 2010.
The TVA is also paying for the medical exams for the residents who choose to have them. The tests will be performed at local medical clinics and physicians and the results will remain confidential. Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the Tennessee Poison Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are providing evaluations for anyone who believes they have been affected.
Sources:
The Daily Reflector
WAAY-TV