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Kingston Fossil Plant ranked number 23 on the list, with 1,738,437 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006==Citizen groups==*[http://www.discoveret.org/tnleaf/ LEAF - Lindquist Environmental Appalachian Fellowship]*[http://www.socm.org/ Save Our Cumberland Mountains]*[http://www.tennesseecoalashsurvivorsnetwork.com/ Tennessee Coal Ash Survivors Network]*[http://www.<ref name="iss"unitedmountaindefense.org/>United Mountain Defense]
===External Articles===
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{{#Show badges: Climate change |CoalSwarm}} '''Kingston Fossil Plant''' is a coal-fired power station owned and operated by [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] (TVA) and is located on Watts Bar Reservoir on the Tennessee River near Kingston, Tennessee.
The power station has nine coal-fired generating units and "net dependable generating capacity" of approximately 1,456 megawatts. TVA states that "the plant consumes some 12,350 tons of coal a day." Construction of the power station commenced in 1951 and was commissioned in 1955. According to the TVA the "plant consumes about 14,000 tons of coal a day."<ref>Tennessee Valley Authority, [http://www.tva.com/sites/kingston.htm "Kingston Fossil Plant"], Tennessee Valley Authority website, accessed June 2008.</ref><br><br><br><br><br>
==December 2008 Sludge [[TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill|Spill at Kingston Plant]]==
On December 29, 2008, after an inquiry by the New York Times, the Tennessee Valley Authority released an inventory of the plant's 2.2 million pounds of toxic deposits during 2007. The inventory included 45,000 pounds of arsenic, 49,000 pounds of lead, 1.4 million pounds of barium, 91,000 pounds of chromium and 140,000 pounds of manganese. Those metals can cause cancer, liver damage and neurological complications, among other health problems.<ref>Shaila Dewan, [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/us/30sludge.html?_r=1 "At Plant in Coal Ash Spill, Toxic Deposits by the Ton,"] New York Times, 12/29/08</ref>
The winter of 2010 brought heavy rains to the region, causing waste water runoff from the landfill be be greater than expected. As a result 25 inches of rain caused 100,000 gallons of polluted water to be dealt with, likely causing pollution to spread to other locales. The TVA nor the companies hired to take the ash or environmental regulators have discussed these issues with the public.<ref>[http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/StoryAP/03-06-2010-US-Coal-Ash-Disposal- "Spilled coal ash problem spreading"] Observer-Reporter.com March 6, 2010</ref>
==Legal actions==
In December 2009, hundreds of people filed lawsuits against TVA before the one-year deadline, adding to several hundred others who had already filed suit over the Kingston spill. More than 20 separate cases were filed on Tuesday, December 22. TVA has said it should be immune from the lawsuits, because it was providing a government service.<ref>[http://www.cleanskies.com/articles/hundreds-beat-deadline-tva-spill-lawsuits "Hundreds Beat Deadline for TVA Spill Lawsuits,"] Clean Skies, December 23, 2009.</ref>
===Alabama Proposes Coal Ash Regulation===
On March 4, 2010 the Alabama House introduced a bill that would allow Perry County, Alabama to levy a $5 per ton fee on coal ash disposed at a privately owned landfill in the city of Uiontown. Alabama Rep. Ralph Howard of Greensboro, Alabama introduced the bill. Currently the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] (TVA) is shipping coal sludge that breached the [[Kingston Fossil Plant]] in Tennessee. TVA anticipates that it will ship approximately 3 million cubic feet of coal and ash to the landfill before the clean-up is completed.
Revenue from the levy would be spent evenly between the towns of Uniontown and Marion. The total amount raised could be as much as $15 million.
Democratic Rep. Ralph Howard of Greensboro introduced the bill Thursday.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is shipping coal ash and sludge that breached an earthen dike at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee to the landfill. TVA plans to ship about 3 million cubic feet of coal and ash to the landfill.
Howard said revenue from the fee would be split evenly between the cities of Uniontown and Marion. Howard estimated the fee could raise as much as $15 million. If the legislation passes voters would have to approve the measure in their November 2010 election.<ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9E8IHSG0.htm "Alabama proposal would levy fee on dumped coal ash"] Associated Press, March 5, 2010</ref>
==TVA shipping coal ash from Tennessee disaster to Georgia and Alabama==
Although falling fuel prices have enabled TVA to cut much of a 20 percent rate increase that took effect in October 2008, the company is considering another increase in October 2009 to mitigate these expenses. TVA will set its fiscal 2010 budget and rate changes in August.<ref name="pres"/>
After the accident, the TVA board voted to replace its six ash ponds -- including the one at Kingston, three others in Tennessee, and one each in Kentucky and Alabama -- with dry storage, at a cost of $1.5 billion over 10 years.<ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-03/coal-ash-disaster-lingers-in-tennessee-as-regulation-fight-rages.html "Coal-Ash Disaster Lingers in Tennessee as Regulation Fight Rages"] Bloomberg, November 3, 2011.</ref>
==Continuing coal waste problems after spill==
{{#ev:youtube|OsxIfu12p64|400|right|TVA at the Crossroads, produced by Southern Alliance for Clean Energy|frame}}
===Kingston ranked 23rd on list of most polluting power plants in terms of coal waste===
In January 2009, Sue Sturgis of the Institute of Southern Studies compiled a list of the 100 most polluting coal plants in the United States in terms of [[Coal waste|coal combustion waste]] (CCW) stored in surface impoundments like the one involved in the [[TVA Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill]].<ref name="iss">Sue Sturgis, [http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/01/coals-ticking-timebomb-could-disaster-strike-a-coal-ash-dump-near-you.html "Coal's ticking timebomb: Could disaster strike a coal ash dump near you?,"] Institute for Southern Studies, January 4, 2009.</ref> The data came from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for 2006, the most recent year available.<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/ TRI Explorer,] EPA, accessed January 2009.</ref>
Kingston Fossil Plant ranked number 23 on the list, with 1,738,437 pounds of coal combustion waste released to surface impoundments in 2006.<ref name="iss"/>
===Duke University scientists report high levels of arsenic===
In November 2010 a study published by Duke University scientists in peer-reviewed journal ''Environmental Science and Technology'', documented contaminant levels in aquatic ecosystems over an 18-month period following the TVA coal ash spill in 2008.
By analyzing more than 220 water samples collected over the 18-month period, the Duke team found that high concentrations of arsenic from the TVA coal ash remained in the water trapped within river-bottom sediment — long after contaminant levels in surface waters dropped back below safe thresholds.
Samples extracted from 10 centimeters to half a meter below the surface of sediment in downstream rivers contained arsenic levels of up to 2,000 parts per billion — well above the EPA’s thresholds of 10 parts per billion for safe drinking water, and 150 parts per billion for protection of aquatic life.
The authors argued that these findings were evidence that coal ash waste ought to be designated a hazardous substance by the EPA. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation.<ref>[http://scienceblog.com/40608/duke-scientists-look-deeper-for-coal-ash-hazards/ "Duke scientists look deeper for coal ash hazards"] Science Blog, November 29, 2010.</ref>
===December 2010: TVA leak at Kingston plant===
In December 2010, two years after the huge coal ash spill, environmental officials ordered a synthetic liner be installed in a leaky gypsum storage pond at the same [[Kingston Fossil Plant]] in East Tennessee. TVA spokeswoman Barbara Martocci said the utility on Dec. 15 stopped a seepage of water from the Kingston Plant gypsum pond near the Clinch River. The seepage was discovered about a mile from the site of the Dec. 22, 2008 spill.<ref name=bb>[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-21/tva-plant-must-replace-liner-at-leaky-gypsum-pond.html "TVA plant must replace liner at leaky gypsum pond"] Bloomberg, Dec. 21, 2010.</ref>
Gypsum is a byproduct of an air scrubbing process when coal is burned. It is used to make products such as drywall. A TVA statement said the pond built in 2006 covers an area of about 50 acres and has a capacity to hold about 5.7 million cubic yards of gypsum, but has been used only a short time and contains about 22,000 cubic yards of gypsum. Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton said that in addition to TVA interrupting use of the storage pond until it is fixed, the utility must provide a "detailed corrective action plan." She said the department gave TVA 30 working days to provide the plan.<ref name=bb/>
===Study finds dangerous level of hexavalent chromium at TVA Johnsonville and Kingston coal waste sites===
The study [http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/CoalAshChromeReport.pdf "EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash,"] released by EarthJustice and the Sierra Club in early February 2011, reported elevated levels of hexavalent [[Chromium|chromium]], a highly potent cancer-causing chemical, at several [[Coal ash|coal ash]] sites in Tennessee.<ref name="blind spot">[http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/CoalAshChromeReport.pdf "EPA’s Blind Spot: Hexavalent Chromium in Coal Ash"] Earthjustice & Sierra Club, February 1, 2011.</ref> In all, the study cited 29 sites in 17 states where hexavalent chromium contamination was found. The information was gathered from existing EPA data on coal ash as well as from studies by EarthJustice, the Environmental Integrity Project, and the Sierra Club.<ref>"Damage Case Report for Coal Combustion Wastes," August 2008</ref><ref>U.S. EPA Proposed Coal Ash Rule, 75 Fed. Reg. 35128</ref><ref>EarthJustice, Environmental Integrity Project, and Sierra Club, "In Harm's Way: Lack of Federal Coal Ash Regulations Endangers Americans and their Environment," August 2010</ref><ref>EarthJustice and Environmental Integrity Project, "Out of Control: Mounting Damages from Coal Ash Waste Sites," May 2010</ref> It included locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virgina and Wisconsin.<ref name="blind spot"/>
According to the report, hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was found at elevated levels at the following sites:<ref name="blind spot"/>
* [[TVA]]'s [[Johnsonville Fossil Plant]] unlined coal ash pond at 620 ppb (parts per billion) - 31,000 times the proposed California drinking water goals and 6.2 times above the federal drinking water standard.
* [[TVA]]'s [[Kingston Fossil Plant]]'s unlined coal waste pond at 100 ppb (parts per billion) - 5,000 times the proposed California drinking water goals and above the federal drinking water standard.
A press release about the report read:
::Hexavalent chromium first made headlines after Erin Brockovich sued Pacific Gas & Electric because of poisoned drinking water from hexavalent chromium. Now new information indicates that the chemical has readily leaked from coal ash sites across the U.S. This is likely the tip of the iceberg because most coal ash dump sites are not adequately monitored.<ref>[http://www.examiner.com/green-culture-in-mankato/coal-ash-waste-tied-to-cancer-causing-chemicals-water-supplies "Coal ash waste tied to cancer-causing chemicals in water supplies"] Alicia Bayer, Examiner.com, February 1, 2011.</ref>
According to the report, the electric power industry is the leading source of chromium and chromium compounds released into the environment, representing 24 percent of releases by all industries in 2009.<Ref name="blind spot"/>
==Plant Data==
*'''2005 Mercury Emissions''': 430 lb.
==Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from Kingston ranked 23rd on list of most polluting power plants in terms of coal wasteFossil Plant== In January 20092010, Sue Sturgis of Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Institute of Southern Studies compiled Clean Air Task Force, a list of nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the 100 most polluting deaths and other health effects attributable to [[Particulates and coal|fine particle pollution]] from coal -fired power plants in the United States in terms .<ref>[http://www.catf.us/resources/publications/files/The_Toll_from_Coal.pdf "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source,"] Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.</ref> Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of [[Coal wastesoot]], [[Heavy metals and coal|heavy metals]], [[Sulfur dioxide and coal combustion waste|sulfur dioxide]] (CCW) stored , and [[Nitrogen oxide|nitrogen oxides]]. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in surface impoundments like diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the one involved in lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's [[TVA Kingston Fossil Plant External costs of coal ash spill|external costs]], i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. [[Coal plants near residential areas|Low-income and minority populations]] are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.<ref name="iss">Sue Sturgis, [http://www.southernstudiescatf.orgus/resources/2009publications/01files/coalsAbt-tickingTechnical_Support_Document_for_the_Powerplant_Impact_Estimator_Software_Tool.pdf "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool,"] Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010</ref> ====Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from the Kingston Fossil Plant===={| class="wikitable"!width="120"| Type of Impact!! width="120" | Annual Incidence !! width = "120" | Valuation|-timebomb| Deaths||align="right" |150||align="right" |$1,100,000,000 |-could| Heart attacks||align="right" |220||align="right" |$24,000,000 |-disaster| Asthma attacks||align="right" |2,400||align="right" |$130,000 |-strike| Hospital admissions||align="right" |110||align="right" |$2,600,000 |-a| Chronic bronchitis||align="right" |90||align="right" |$40,000,000 |-| Asthma ER visits||align="right" |140||align="right" |$50,000 |} Source: [http://www.catf.us/coal-ash-dump-near-you/problems/power_plants/existing/ "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution,"] Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011 ==Water use from plant==A 2011 Union of Concerned Scientists report, [http://www.cleanenergy.org/images/files/F_EW3_FreshwaterUsebyUSPowerPlantsNov2011.html pdf "Coal's ticking timebombFreshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants: Could disaster strike Electricity’s Thirst for a coal ash dump near you?Precious Resource,"] Institute for Southern Studiescalculated the available water in every major watershed in the U.S. and measured that against the water used by power plants in each watershed. The report found that water use by the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston coal plant is stressing the water supply of the Emory River, January 4, 2009in Tennessee.</ref> The data came from water stress problem is likely to get worse, according to the researchers, as the population, and the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) corresponding demand for 2006energy and residential water, the most recent year availablegrows.<ref>Averyt, K., J. Fisher, A. Huber-Lee, A. Lewis, J. Macknick, N. Madden, J. Rogers, and S. Tellinghuisen, [http://www.epacleanenergy.govorg/triexplorerimages/ TRI Explorerfiles/F_EW3_FreshwaterUsebyUSPowerPlantsNov2011.pdf "Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants: Electricity’s Thirst for a Precious Resource,"] EPAThe Union of Concerned Scientists' Energy and Water in a Warming World initiative, accessed January 2009November 2011 Report.</ref>
==Articles and Resources==
===SourcesReferences===
{{reflist|2}}
===External Resources===
*[http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat2p2.html Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005], Energy Information Administration, accessed Jan. 2009.
*Environmental Integrity Project, [http://www.dirtykilowatts.org/Dirty_Kilowatts2007.pdf "Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants"], July 2007.
*[[Tennessee sludge spill]]
[[Category:United States]]