Approximately 5.4 million cubic yards of wet coal ash flooded residential areas and the Emory River when the wall of an ash retention pond burst at the Kingston Fossil Plant on Dec. 22. This volume of ash would be enough to flood more than 3,000 acres of land one-foot deep.
One resident explained: “This is not a thin coating of ash. These are boulders. There’s one in our cove that’s probably the size of our home.” A test of river water near the spill showed elevated levels of lead and thallium, though state officials say levels were safe near the Kingston Water Treatment Plant. Officials have not released details on the toxicity of the ash itself, which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, may contain heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic.
The TVA, a federally owned corporation, used the retention pond to store ash generated by one of its 11 coal-fired plants. Coal ash is not regulated as a hazardous material and is generally stored in unlined embankments near rivers.
