Last month’s devastating coal ash spill in Tennessee could have been prevented if warning signs were heeded, according to a former coal engineer.  While the utility company argues the previous leaks were unrelated, an appalling lack of safety oversight or government regulation of the toxic sludge are undeniable hazards of the coal industry.   A number of environmental groups including the Sierra Club are planning to sue the utility on behalf of 40 neighboring families.

According to the New York Times, the Tennessee spill is only one of more than 1.300 unmonitored and unregulated coal ash dumps that have occurred across the United States recently.  As air pollution controls have tightened coal companies have moved to capturing their waste in solid form and often store them near bodies of water where they leach toxic substances.

most of these dumps, which reach up to 1,500 acres, contain heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury and selenium, which are considered by the Environmental Protection Agency to be a threat to water supplies and human health.  - NY Times

So much for “clean” coal!

takepart by learning more about the connection between “clean” coal and climate change with the Reality campaign.

Related: Inconvenient Truth of the Day

Photo: davipt’s Flickr Photostream (Creative Commons)