TV Kingston Fossil Plant Coal Fly Ash Slurry Spill Mirinda Bray

On December 22, 2008 a retention pond wall collapsed at Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Kingston plant in Harriman, Tennessee

Combination of water and fly ash flooded 12 homes, spilled into nearby Watts Bar Lake, contaminated the Emory River, and caused a train wreck. 4 to 6 feet of material escaped from the pond to cover an estimated 400 acres of adjacent land. Hundreds of fish were floating dead downstream from the plant. Water tests showed elevated levels of lead and thallium

The wet gray sludge buried about 400 acres six feet deep The wet gray sludge buried about 400 acres six feet deep. One house was torn from its foundations, and 11 other homes were damaged and evacuated. No injuries or fatalities have been reported. Environmentalists warn that fly ash contains toxins – mercury, arsenic, and lead among others - that could seep into the ground and flow downriver

Before After

The Tennessee Valley Authority was responsible for a coal ash spill outside Knoxville that federal officials say is one of the worst environmental disasters of its kind TVA reportedly knew about leaks at the Kingston facility for more than two decades and opted not to pay for long-term solutions to the problem.

Recovery efforts five years after the coal ash spilled still are going on. The incident was one of the worst environmental disasters in recent years