Months After Ash Spill, Town Still Choking

A few hours before dawn on December 22, the walls of a dam holding back billions of gallons of coal ash waste trembled and, finally, crumbled. The waste, a toxic soup containing ash left over from burning coal, which is then mixed with water, was stored at the Tennessee Valley Authority coal power plant in neighboring Kingston, Tennessee. On that cold morning, 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge barreled through this community, covering 300 acres. Residents are afraid of the chemicals that were released into the environment: arsenic, selenium, lead and radioactive materials including chromium and barium. The TVA says contact with wet coal fly ash does not present a serious health risk, though direct skin contact may cause localized irritation.