Groundwater contamination discovered
around TVA coal-fired plants, report claims
NOVEMBER 18, 2013
mkos83/iStockphoto/Thinkstock
A recent report by the Washington-based Environmental Integrity
Project (EIP) claims that the groundwater around coal
plants run by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is polluted,
USA Today reported.
The advocacy group, founded by former EPA attorneys, used data
obtained from TVA monitoring wells and stated that
there was evidence that groundwater around all 11 coal plants operated
by TVA has been heavily polluted.
The report pointed out that TVA should be taking more measures to
protect drinking water supplies in the vicinity of its
coal plants. In a statement released by TVA, the utility did not contest
the findings in the report but noted that it was
moving to adopt a more aggressive approach to control and prevent
future coal ash contamination of water supplies.
According to the report, groundwater around the facilities contained high
levels of arsenic, boron, cobalt, manganese
and sulfate, which are all chemicals associated with coal ash. Out of
the 11 surveyed plants, five had groundwater that
exceeded federal standards for arsenic levels, while elevated boron
levels were registered at nine plants. All but one
of the plants had groundwater levels that were above federal standards
for manganese, the EIP found.
Meanwhile, prompted by a combination of factors, including environmental
concerns, competition from shale gas and
new regulations, TVA has announced that it will close eight units at three
coal-fired plants.
