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BLOG: Dike Burst Spills 525 Million Gallons of Sludge

Treehugger.com
 

Dec. 24, 2008 -- 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.

For more on this breaking story, visit Treehugger.com.



Related Links:

Treehugger.com: Clean Coal Carolers from an Industry Run By Morons

Treehugger.com: Wind Power Beats Nuclear and Clean Coal, Other Renewables as Best Energy Option

Treehugger.com: Coal's Other Major Pollutant: Mercury

HowStuffWorks.com: What if the Alaska Pipeline Blew Up?


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