Southern Alliance for Clean Energy: Stronger Safety Warnings Needed in TN Ash Spill

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is calling on the U.S. EPA to issue stronger safety warnings for residents living near the massive coal ash flood in Tennessee. So far the EPA has only suggested residents boil their water before drinking. However, if the water is contaminated with heavy metals such as lead and mercury, boiling the water will not remove these heavy metals and it will not make the water safe to drink.

You can read about this in the AP article in Lexington Herald Leader news article hear: Stronger warnings needed in Tenn. ash spill, by Kristin M. Hall - Associated Press Writer.

"When TVA issues a statement that the drinking water is safe, that this material is inert ... it leads the community to believe that there's really no problem," (Stephen) Smith (executive director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy) said. "That is absolutely not true."

Neither the EPA not the TVA has yet to release any studies documenting the concentration of heavy metals in the ash. Local reports from members of United Mountain Defense, who have take fresh bottled water to residents living near the spill, say some people and pets have experienced extensive vomiting after drinking tap water.

I'm reminded of the how after the sludge flood in Martin County in 2000 the EPA told local residents not to worry about their drinking water being contaminated because everything that is in the sludge can be found on the periodic table of the elements. Take a look, mercury, lead, caesium, plutonium are all on the periodic table.