Toxic coal sludge: the best kept coal industry secret!

[Ernesto]

We talked (whined) about nuclear waste storage problems for decades.
But, (poetic justice here), the tip of the toxic sludge ice berg has just surfaced at the same time as the all-out "clean coal" industry PR onslaught. PERFECT!
http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/27/has-tva-been-stockpiling-lies-along

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Is coal sludge the same as coal slag (as in the tragedy of Aberfan in 1966)?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/21/newsid_2705000/2705335.stmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/21/newsid_2705000/2705335.stm

[TomInTib]

3. I saw it referred to as slag in an article.

That is some nasty crap.

But, for some reason, I think 'sludge' and 'slag' are by-products of two different extraction methods.

PM ThomWV, he knows a lot about mining. He'll know the answer.

[Buzz Clik]

2. It's a poorly kept secret, actually.

In fact, it's been a topic of discussion here at DU in the Environment forum for years. NNadir has been screaming about the dangers of burning coal (including the massive amount of waste) the entire time I've been posting here.

[Ernesto]

6. "Poorly kept secret"

Not in terms of the MSM...
Enlightened folks (like you) know what's happening. The sheeple are only just starting to this absorb reality.
Unfortunately, it takes such extreme graphic examples (thrown directly into their face) to energize the masses.

[spanone]

4. the amount DOUBLED after the first reports on this....this is evil, folks...

heavy metal....bu$h* has eradicated any form of oversight in our government and public safety....

[spanone]

5. watch this video....Toxic Sludge Got Into Tributary of Chattanooga Water Supply

An environmental disaster of epic proportions just happened in Tennessee. Monday night 2.6 million cubic yards (the equivalent of 525.2 million gallons, 48 times more than the Exxon Valdez spill by volume) of coal ash sludge broke through a dike of a 40-acre holding pond at TVA’s Kingston coal-fired power plant covering 400 acres up to six feet deep, damaging 12 homes and wrecking a train.

According to the EPA the cleanup will take at least several weeks, but could take years. Officials also said that the magnitude of this spill is such that the entire area could be declared a federal superfund site.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/tennessee-coal-ash-slurry-spill-48-times-bigger-than-exxon-valdez-spill.php

[K Gardner]

7. Not so much a secret anymore. Poetic Justice indeed !

[BrklynLiberal]

8. The media has been in the pockets of the coal mining industry.

The mountaintop removal coal-mining and slurry pond overflows have been happening for decades.
Even when they hit the headlines, nothing is done to correct the situation..especially
when shitheads like Bush appoint coal mining execs to oversee the safety of the industry.

Other threads about this...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3660473&mesg_id=3660500

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3660107

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3659318

[onethatcares]

9. sludge and slag aren't the only problem

look up Centralia Pennsylvania.