Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), one of the nation's largest power companies, experienced a massive sludge spill on December 22, 2008 after a wall was breached in a retention facility in Kingston, Tennessee. More than one billion gallons of coal waste containing heavy metals flowed into area rivers and damaged more than 15 homes. Tennessee Valley Authority's president and CEO Tom Kilgore has pledged to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the spill.CNN: Rivers high in arsenic, heavy metals... (December 29, 2008) Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen have vowed to oversee the clean-up efforts of the TVA and to conduct a transparent investigation into what went wrong.CNN: Tennessee governor says sludge spill victims will get help (December 31, 2008)
Tennessee Valley Authority Statement Excerpt
This is not a time where TVA holds its head high. But we won't hang our head, either, because that won't get the job done. I'm here to tell you that we will clean it up, and we will clean it up right.—Tom Kilgore, president and CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority.CNN: Rivers high in arsenic, heavy metals... (December 29, 2008)
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Fast Facts
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Tennessee Valley Authority is one of the nation's largest public power companies
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Tennessee Valley Authority experienced a coal waste spill at a retention facility in Kingston, Tennessee on December 22, 2008CNN: Rivers high in arsenic, heavy metals... (December 29, 2008)
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More than one billion gallons of coal waste were released when a wall was breachedCNN: Rivers high in arsenic, heavy metals... (December 29, 2008)
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The coal waste sludge is a byproduct of the ash from coal combustion
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The sludge released is enough to fill 1,660 Olympic-sized swimming poolsCNN: Rivers high in arsenic, heavy metals... (December 29, 2008)
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Area residents were evacuated during the spill
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High levels of metals were found in the Emory and Clinch rivers near where the spill occurredCNN: Rivers high in arsenic, heavy metals... (December 29, 2008)
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Lead and thallium can cause birth defects, as well as nervous and reproductive system disordersMSNBC: Tennessee Ash Flood Larger... (December 27, 2008)
