... And Now For Some Good News From TVA
Its not all bad news at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) cleanup operation in Kingston Tennessee.
No, despite the spill of 5.3 million cubic yards of coal ash from their power plant -- over 1 billion gallons -- into tributaries of the Tennessee River, everything seems to be just fine -- at least if you are a TVA spokesperson.
This environmental catastrophe has left the national news media struggling to find a way to convey its enormous magnitude. It is almost 100 times bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. CNN says the coal ash is "enough to fill 1,660 Olympic-size swimming pools," whatever that means.
But meanwhile, the Public Relation Department at TVA has been very busy reassuring the public that all is well. No need to panic, nothing to see here, move along. And don't take any pictures.
According to the TVA website, this disaster wasn't a disaster, it was an "ash slide." It was also an "event."
The 5-story tall mountain of coal waste didn't collapse into the river like a tsunami of sludge -- no, it was "displaced."
All those dead fish -- they died because "the force of the water during the initial event stranded some fish out of the water and they subsequently died. That was not related to water quality."
That gray stuff floating in the water is called "cenospheres," and its used to make bowling balls! Thats some handy information for the nearby families.
And ... "most of the fly ash consists of inert material" .
Well, you could say the same thing about Jim Jones Kool-Aid. It was "mostly inert" too.
And there is still more good news: over 1000 feet of railroad tracks leading to the TVA power plant have already been cleared of sludge so that TVA will have plenty of coal to burn and generate more coal ash.
Whew, thats a relief. I was afraid they were going to run out of coal.
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HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When officials say "nothing to worry about" I know we're in big trouble.
I guess to TVA Management upper echelon drinks imported bottled water while telling everyone else that things are going to be o.k., the situation is under control. Its an event, certainly not a catastrophe or a disaster. No, no, no........
Perhaps they can come up with some good ways to 'mitigate' the 'effects'? Because it's not repairing damage... After all, nothing's wrong...
As long as we're listing euphemisms, isn't "pond" a rather strange word to use when describing billions of gallons of sludge?
Oh, it IS fine! Residents need not be worried or upset, the TVA continues to protect not only the consumer but the children as well. We bring much needed cash to good old Appalachia, we deliver a variety of depleted uranium to our down to earth natives, we stash dioxin in local chicken feed, we cultivate agriculture with nuclear waste, and grow our poplars with soil rich with defoliants, life is WELL here at the TVA headquarters. No need to inquire about us! We do offer our thanks to the countless concerned Americans, we're fine!
Better make sure that readers know you are being sarcastic (!?) -- because coal boosters like Bill Caylor (KY Coal Association) say this stuff and mean it.
Caylor is on record for such comments as:"We have not buried any streams, we have just changed their drainage!" (Mtn top removal and valley fill have filled in hundreds of miles of creek and stream valleys with rock and mining debris).
In 2001 he said that the Martin County coal slurry was "harmless," and when challenged by U of KY student activists to eat some, he did so -- it was served up to him on a tray with a flower in a vase, and he scooped up a big ol' fingerful and wolfed it down.
No! What an atrocious man. Thanks Hilary.
Hey Dave
Remember that after the Martin County KY coal slurry impoundment collapse disaster of 2000, it was termed "An Act of God" by the coal company, to avoid fines and penalties?! Looks like TVA is gearing up for divine legal protection this time too!
Speaking of coal slurry, a reliable source in KY suggests that the TVA disaster does not look like a coal ash spill, but more like a coal slurry spill: it's way too liquid for coal ash, which is solid and drier. Coal ash does not flow. What's going on here?!
They gotta have that coal Dave. Never mind the 20-foot tall piles of ash and mud (that's turning into a concrete-like material, those darn cenospheres!) sitting all around our neighborhood! Just put in some sprinklers, keep it wet and you'd never know it was there (except for the smell and the police checkpoints and blockades you have to go through just to get home).
Oh wow, the REPUBLICAN SPIN-MEISTERS in their dozens of Republican THINK TANKS
are hard at work spinning this one! And hundreds of other profiteering "issues"
created by PRESIDENT CHENEY and his CHEERLEADER BUSH.
This has NOTHING to do with the Republicans. The TVA is not owned or run by Republicans!
Wrong! The Bush Administration has deregulated mining laws and also put cronies in charge of administering these laws. It's 'Business Interests ahead of Human Interests'. The last time I looked, the Bush Administration are Republicans and so are their enablers in Congress. And...the TVA is a Business.
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