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

Nine months after more than a billion gallons of coal ash tumbled from an impoundment pond at a Kingston, Tenn., coal-firing plant and created one of the nation’s largest environmental disasters, only one-third of the total sludge has been removed from the Emory River, leaving behind 2 million cubic yards in the river and 2.4 million cubic yards in Swan Pond Creek and neighboring land. The cleanup effort is still months – maybe years – away from completion and is expected to cost the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) at least $1 billion by the time it is complete.

About 500 people have been working almost nonstop to fill Norfolk Southern train cars with recovered toxic sludge and transport them to a landfill in Alabama. Judging by the vast stretches of gray on the ground, the end is far from sight. But TVA officials vow they will restore the land to its previous condition. Still, residents are skeptical.

Coal ash contains dangerous toxins such as arsenic, lead, chromium, manganese and barium, which have been linked to serious health concerns such as cancer, liver damage and neurological complications, to name a few. Many residents in the area have complained of respiratory issues and heightened anxiety. Some, including a young child, have tested positive for heavy metal in their blood.

While removing the ash may make the land appear good as new, environmentalists fear that the damage is a deeper problem, that toxins have seeped into the ground and waterways, affecting wildlife and plant life, which ultimately will create more problems for those who go back to live on the land.

Source: KnoxNews

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