TVA Coal Ash Spill Dec 22 2008

Now all day yesterday and today I listened to the water main break in Maryland that happened on Tuesday via the news. Granted that was a scary proposition and highlighted the weakness of our infrastructure.

Yet I am miffed to find out that after 2.6 million cubic yards of toxic coal sludge broke through a dike and ruined homes and 400 acres in Tennessee the story got no air time what so ever and this incident happened on Monday.  I think we have a right to know when an environmental disaster has taken place in our own damn country. No?

Toxic Sludge Got Into Tributary of Chattanooga Water Supply
Apart from the immediate physical damage, the issue is what toxic substances are in that sludge: Mercury, arsenic, lead, beryllium, cadmium. Though officials said the amounts of these poisons in the sludge could not be determined on Monday, they could (at the mild end) irritate skin or trigger allergies or (longer term) cause cancer or neurological problems.

This toxic sludge got into the Emory River, a tributary of the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers: The water supply for Chattanooga, Tennessee as well as millions of people living downstream in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. TVA says that as yet the spill (which they are characterizing as a mudslide or landslide, but frankly it’s still toxic…) has not affected the water quality in the Emory River.

I can’t speak for other states but this was not a story that got any kind of play in New York and I can only wonder why the media blackout?  This is a environmental disaster of epic proportion and will no doubt have impact for decades.  Not to mention all the million of people that are getting ready to suffer through all kinds of fake assurance until they start popping up with all types of cancer and/or neurological problems as well as dying.

Today’s media topic was Obama’s non-scandal scandal, water main break in Maryland and deicing malfunction at the Seattle Airport, which was the breaking news of the day.  Those topics played over and over on the cable news networks.  No wonder we barely know anything.  We barely get news reported.

Read the full story here.

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