What caused the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill?
What caused the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill?
Cause. Engineering firm AECOM was hired by TVA to investigate the cause of the spill. A report released in June 2009 identified the main cause of the spill as the result of slippage of an unstable layer of fine wet coal ash underneath the pond.
Was the Kingston coal ash spill preventable?
TVA Could Have Prevented Tennessee Coal Ash Disaster, Report Finds. A scathing independent report concludes that the massive coal ash spill which devastated a Tennessee town was no accident — it was negligence.
How do you prevent coal ash from spilling?
The best way to prevent toxic spills is to limit activities that create the potential for spills in the first place, for example by transitioning away from coal to an electricity system powered by clean, renew- able energy. Keep risky facilities away from water.
How did the Tennessee coal ash spill happen?
When a dike holding back millions of gallons of coal ash sludge failed at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston coal plant early on the morning of Dec. 22, 2008, homes were buried or pushed off their foundations and hundreds of properties were inundated by the thick coal ash slop.
What is fly ash from coal?
The fly ash produced from the burning of pulverized coal in a coal-fired boiler is a fine-grained, powdery particulate material that is carried off in the flue gas and usually collected from the flue gas by means of electrostatic precipitators, baghouses, or mechanical collection devices such as cyclones.
Is coal ash regulated?
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, enacted in 1976, authorizes EPA to regulate a wide variety of solid and hazardous wastes, including coal ash. The rule allowed unlined coal ash impoundments without leaks to continue operating. Environmentalists and industry both challenged the final rule.
How is fly ash regulated?
Fly ash management and use in the United States is regulated by both state and federal agencies. With modern air pollution controls, airborne toxins are captured through filtration systems before they can become airborne, and contained in a fine ash called coal ash, fly ash, or coal combustion waste.
What is the difference between coal ash and fly ash?
During coal combustion, large amounts of ash are created along with carbon dioxide and other gases. The fine particle ash that rises up with the flue gases is known as fly or flue ash while the heavier ash that does not rise is called bottom ash; collectively these are known as coal ash.
How is fly ash disposed of?
Worldwide, more than 65% of fly ash produced from coal power stations is disposed of in landfills and ash ponds. Ash that is stored or deposited outdoors can eventually leach toxic compounds into underground water aquifers.
How do you dispose of coal ash?
How and where is coal ash currently generated and disposed? CCRs may be generated wet or dry, and some CCRs are dewatered while others are mixed with water to facilitate transport (e.g., sluiced). CCRs can be disposed in off-site landfills, or disposed in on-site landfills or surface impoundments.
Where was the Kingston TVA coal ash spill?
EPA Response to Kingston TVA Coal Ash Spill. On December 22, 2008, at approximately 1:00 a.m., a failure of the northwest side of a dike used to contain coal ash occurred at the dewatering area of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant, located at 714 Swan Pond Road in Harriman, Roane County, Tennessee.
How is fly ash stored at Kingston Power Plant?
The coal-fired power plant, located across the Clinch River from the city of Kingston, uses ponds to dewater the fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion, which is then stored in wet form in dredge cells.
Where was the coal ash spill in 2008?
Workers who cleaned up a huge spill from a coal ash pond in Tennessee in 2008 are still suffering—and dying. The U.S. has 1,400 ash dumps. When a dike on a coal ash pond ruptured at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Kingston, Tennessee, in December 2008, it spilled far more toxic ash than the Deepwater Horizon spilled oil.
How did the Kingston Fossil Plant spill affect the environment?
The spill did not affect the adjacent retaining and stilling ponds; the other two stayed intact, while only the retaining wall for the 84-acre (0.34 km 2) solid waste containment area was affected. The confluence of the Clinch and Emory Rivers, with the Kingston Fossil Plant in the distance, five days after the spill.
What caused the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill? Cause. Engineering firm AECOM was hired by TVA to investigate the cause of the spill. A report released in June 2009 identified the main cause of the spill as the result of slippage of an unstable layer of fine wet coal ash underneath the…