TVA officials say the increased energy demand is a result of extreme cold weather throughout the Southeast. The increase will likely help pad the coffers of the TVA, which are stretched these days due to a billion-dollar cleanup of an east Tennessee community that was covered in toxic sludge after a coal ash impoundment pond breached at the TVA’s Kingston site.

The TVA also shelled out millions to buy up damaged property at the spill site and to help pay for city and county improvements and a public relations campaign to help improve the damaged area’s image. Another billion is being spent to upgrade its other facilities. The utility is also facing lawsuits from hundreds who lost property or suffered injury as a result of the coal ash spill.

The TVA is entering negotiations with insurance companies to cover the billion-dollar cost of the cleanup; however, for now, TVA’s customers are footing that bill.

Sources:
WBRC-TV
The Tennessean

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › TVA enjoys record-breaking energy sales

“Our findings emphasize the fact that although you may stop the emission of toxic elements from coal-fired power plants into the air, they remain in the fly ash that gets stored in power plants’ containment ponds, and may still end up in the environment,” said Avner Vengosh, associate professor of earth and ocean sciences at the Nicholas School.

The team of Duke researchers analyzed data collected at the site of the massive coal ash spill that occurred after a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal ash impoundment pond burst and dumped more than a billion gallons of toxic material on to a neighboring community. The analysis of ash samples revealed high levels of toxic metals and radioactivity, including 75 parts per million of arsenic, 150 parts per billion of mercury, and eight picocuries (a standard measure of radioactivity) per gram of total radium.

Wet coal ash poses less of a risk; however, when the ash dries into fly ash, the risk of humans inhaling the toxic fumes increases. “Our study highlights the high probability that as the ash dries, fine particulates enriched with these elements will be re-suspended in the air as dust and could have a severe health impact on local residents or workers who inhale them,” said Vengosh.

Since the massive coal ash spill last December, the TVA has been working to clean up the mess it caused. The cleanup effort is expected to cost the TVA nearly $1 billion, though some experts say it will be impossible to restore the land and waterways affected.

Source: Duke University

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Those near coal-firing plants at risk for serious health problems

Coal ash contains dangerous toxins such as arsenic, barium, chromium and manganese, which have been associated with serious health concerns such as cancer, liver damage and neurological complications.

“I don’t know what Tennessee law is, but under Pennsylvania law it would probably have to go to a residual waste landfill,” said Tom Rathbun, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

A TVA spokesperson says it already had given up on storing the recovered coal ash in the Pennsylvania coal mines as the mines were not properly lined to prevent the toxins from leaching into the ground.

Meanwhile, TVA has located landfills in Alabama and Georgia to store the 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash that poured from a breached impoundment pond, destroying neighboring homes and property. Both sites are Class 1 landfills. One is located in Mauk, Georgia and the other in Uniontown, Alabama.

The TVA’s cleanup effort has caused headaches for the utility, which estimates it will spend as much as $975 million to restore the land. It could be months before the cleanup is complete.

Source: Forbes/Associated Press

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Pennsylvania says no to TVA coal ash storage

The locations were identified through TVA documents and interviews as a landfill in Taylor County near Mauk, Georgia, and a municipal waste landfill in Perry County in west central Alabama. According to landfill officials in Georgia and Alabama, the facilities are lined with both clay and synthetic barriers, which offers more protection than the unlined surface where the TVA stored ash at its Kingston, Tennessee plant.

Coal ash contains toxic material such as arsenic, lead, chromium, manganese and barium, which have been found to cause serious health issues such as cancer, liver damage and neurological complications.

According to The Institute for Southern Studies, the communities slated to receive the coal ash did not have a chance for meaningful involvement in the decision to store the coal ash in its landfills. Neither the TVA nor regulatory authorities provided an opportunity for public comment.

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Poor, black counties to receive coal ash from TVA cleanup

The new coal ash byproduct, called Cenocell, has good insulating properties and is fire resistant, making it an ideal replacement for concrete, wood and other materials used in various applications in construction, transportation and aerospace.

Coal ash contains dangerous toxins such as arsenic and lead which can, as in the case of the TVA spill, damage property and may lead to serious health complications. The new product, however, is not considered harmful and in fact, is being touted as a “green” product because unlike cement, Cenocell does not generate carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

“This material could help develop communities by allowing people living near coal-burning facilities to create a new industry and new jobs,” Doyoyo said. “This could be an engine of development for people who have been struggling. It really is a material with a social conscience.”

This may not be exciting news to those living in communities in close proximity to coal-burning facilities. The alternative uses for coal ash do not stop the coal-burning fumes from polluting the air nor does it eliminate the threat of another devastating coal ash spill, like that caused when a TVA coal ash pond failed last December and dumped more than a billion gallons of toxic material on to a neighboring community. Rather than alternative uses for coal ash, many are asking for greener alternatives to coal-burning all together.

Doyoyo will present Cenocell and his findings at the World of Coal Ash meeting May 4-7, 2009.

Source:
Reliable Plant

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Scientist develops new product from coal ash

More than a billion gallons of toxic material poured on to 300 acres of an east Tennessee neighborhood late last year when a coal ash impoundment at the TVA’s Kingston, Tennessee, plant failed. The spill destroyed homes and damaged property, and has raised serious concerns about human safety not only among residents but also with environmental groups. Coal ash contains dangerous toxins such as arsenic and lead that can cause serious health problems such as cancer, liver damage and neurological complications.

As a result, residents in the area are cautious. “We need more information and increased communications,” said resident Sarah McCoin, a member of the Tennessee Coal Ash Survivors Network. “Many families fear they are poisoning their children by remaining in their homes and they do not have the resources to pay for testing those children. They need help, they need answers.”

ORAU is an education and research consortium of 100 universities including Georgia Tech, Duke, Tennessee, Tulane, Johns Hopkins and Vanderbuilt. According to the TVA, ORAU will bring in toxicologists to design medical tests to identify health problems that can be caused by the toxins in coal ash. The group also will review the results of air, water and soil tests to determine whether the cleanup has been thorough enough not to pose a risk to those living in the area.

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Research consortium to guide coal ash cleanup, health monitoring

The massive spill is considered one of the worst environmental disasters, destroying homes and damaging property. The toll on wildlife, plant life and, ultimately, human life, is yet to be determined. Cleanup efforts are expected to cost TVA between $525 million and $825 million depending on how many times the waste will have to be moved and how fast crews can dredge the Emory River.

How the utility will pay for cleaning up the mess is yet to be determined. TVA officials say insurance should cover some of the mounting costs, but other options may also need to be considered, such as disposing of assets, using debt and raising power rates. The latter option likely will come with some criticism.

Last fall the utility’s board approved a 20 percent electric rate hike – the highest in almost 20 years – due to escalating fuel costs. As a small tradeoff, TVA lowered its fuel charge by 6 percent in January and said it will cut another 7 percent effective April 1, resulting in a savings of about $4 to $9 in TVA residential customers’ power bills.

TVA provides electricity to about 8.8 million million customers in Tennessee and parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, according to the report.

SOURCE: Coal Ash Spill › Will customers have to pay for TVA’s coal ash disaster?