CONTACTS: Sequatchie Valley Institute, svionline.org; Tennessee Valley Authority, tva.gov.

EarthTalk is produced by E/The Environmental Magazine. SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk is now a book! Details and ordering information at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalkbook.

4 Comments

1. 1. WhitesCreek 03:23 PM 5/19/09

   Some errors in this report that I would not expect from Scientific American. The ash spill covered roughly 300 acres of lake, not 3000. There were fish killed but nothing massive. They were primarily killed by sediment and the mechanics of what was more like a geologic event than anything that could be described by the term "spill".
   
   This disaster started on Dec. 22 but certainly hasn't ended. It calls into question all of the assumptions of safety with regard to burning coal for energy. The nearby population has unexplained serious health issues and the fishery appears to be headed for disaster. This in a lake that currently holds roughly 40 world records for fish.
   
   If ever a community has taken a bullet in the battle against lobbyists it is Roane County TN, as big coal operatives force the TN legislature to turn tricks at their direction. Outrageously, the state senator who lives in Roane County introduced a bill (SB 1331) that would allow far more selenium to be discharged into the environment than is the EPA standard. Senator Ken Yager was heavily financed by the coal industry and charges ahead with his mission even as Appalachian State scientists released a report stating that the selenium concentrations found in the lake's fish are at the tipping point with higher levels leading to the end of their ability to reproduce.
   
   At this point the ash is migrating downstream and will continue to cause problems for some time, not only for the people who line in TN but as far away as central Georgia and Pennsylvania where TVA proposes to tansport and landfill the ash as it is dredged out of the lake.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. 2. americaspower 03:09 PM 5/20/09

   I know that energy is a complex issue, and I think most people would be surprised to know that coal currently provides half of the countrys electricity, with some states getting up to 95 percent of their electricity from coal. In addition to providing the country with reliable domestic energy, coal also keeps Americans at work. My team recently visited the Harriman Dispatching Center in Omaha, Neb., where 800 employees work around the clock to ensure the smooth operation of Union Pacifics entire rail operation. <a href= http://sn.im/factuality>Factuality Tour</a>

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. 3. BuskyDubbs 06:34 PM 5/20/09

   This article did not answer the question. "WhitesCreek" was more informative than SciAm; "americaspower" sounds like a lobbyist trying to change the subject. In Texas we have natural gas, a whole lot cleaner, and it employs thousands of mad proud Texas-Americans. Any large scale operation employs many proud patriotic Americans. The question with coal, and coal ash, is whether those employees should want their children to grow up with lead-heads. I'd say the extra 4 cents on my bill is worth knowing I won't have a toxic tidle-wave poison area lakes and kill all the freshwater Bass and finger-lick'n good Catfish. For those states dumb enough to vote for Coal-Industry puppets, their question ought be 1) Petition to let coal be burnt raw, and thus spread its death in a less concentrated manner, or 2) What are our alternatives and how much would they cost vs. keeping filthy toxic baby-mutating coal which should have never been exumed from its monstrous unGodly fetid graves, or 3) What would it cost to burn coal in pure oxygen, capture the CO2 with chilled ammonia, and separate the toxic metals out for sale in scientific and manufacturing uses?
   
   Or... 4) How much is our health and ecology worth?
   Presumably, if they've thought this through in rural TN, not much. You reap what you sow.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

4. 4. cattman 07:23 AM 8/1/10

   Why does no one mention in these articles the significant amount of THorium, Uranium 235 and 238 and Other radiocative constituents in the ash. There is estimated to be enough fissile u-235 in the fly ash of a coal fired plant to power a simiar sized pplant as the one that produced the ash. We're talking tons from a 1GW plant. See Gabbard et al , an Oak Ridge paper, or US NCRP Paper 92 1987.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this