10 of the World's Worst Energy Disasters:
The Kingston Coal Ash Spill

View of the Kingston Fossil Plant fly ash spill

Photo: Brian Stansberry / Wikipedia

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The Three Mile Island meltdown

What:
Kingston Coal Ash Spill

Where:
Roane County, Tennessee

When:
December 22, 2008

What happened:
Early on December 22, 2008, an ashy dike ruptured and released 1.1 billion gallons of coal fly ash slurry into the atmosphere. Fly ash slurry spread across 300 acres, damaging homes and polluting the local Emory and Clinch River waterways.

The fly ash contained high quantities of toxic chemicals including arsenic, lead, barium, chromium and manganese, metals which have been linked to cancer, liver damage, neurological damage and other health problems.

The longterm impact:
The spill is expected to cost around $1 billion dollars to clean up and clean up efforts are expected to be completed around 2013. The Emory River is still closed to the public.

In May 2010, the EPA announced plans to regulate coal ash disposal, including the implementation of protective controls and safer landfills.

View from the N. Kentucky Road bridge across the confluence of the Clinch and the Emory rivers toward the Kingston Fossil Plant in Kingston, Tenn. (Photo: Brian Stansberry / Wikipedia)

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The Prestige oil spill - The Three Mile Island meltdown

More of the World's Worst Energy Disasters

The Kuwait oil fires The Prestige oil spill The Upper Big Branch mine disaster The Chernobyl power plant meltdown

The Exxon Valdez disaster The Johnstown flood The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station disaster The BP Oil Spill

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