PDF: Public Health
A recent state and federal health assessment of the Kingston ash spill and its aftermath has raised controversy and headlines, but not a single formal comment or response for state health officials.
Bonnie Basher, director of the Tennessee Department of Health’s Environmental Epidemiology program, said state officials have extended the deadline for public comments to March 9.
“We really need people to comment in writing,” Ms. Basher said. “We could have missed something.”
TVA and the heath department have scheduled a public meeting about the assessment and future cleanup work Tuesday at Roane County High School.
The health assessment was co-written by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. It largely predicted no harm to the health of people living near the site of the Dec. 22, 2008, breach in a holding pond for TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant. The spill sent 5.4 million cubic yards of toxin-laden muck onto nearby land and into the Emory River and tributaries.
Dr. Gregory Button, a disaster researcher with the University of Tennessee’s Department of Anthropology, was one of those who requested the report and has criticized its contents in several articles written for online publications.
Dr. Button said the state discounted research data by Duke University and Appalachian State University and environmental groups, choosing instead to use TVA data. He said TVA was allowed to review and change the report before it was released.
“Now, skeptics wonder if TVA’s past tendency to adopt a litigation strategy over accountability may have played a role in the issuance of the health assessment report, which basically downplays any present or potential health threats,” the researcher said.
IF YOU GO* What: Public meeting and open house* When: 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday* Where: Where: Roane County High School* Participants: TVA, EPA, state health and environmental regulators and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease RegistrySource: TVA
TVA spokesman Mike Harris has said the agency would not comment on Dr. Button’s criticisms.
Ms. Basher said the state followed normal guidelines.
“Nobody tried to influence (the assessment),” she said. “TVA did receive the initial draft at the same time as EPA and TDEC. … It was the right thing to do to make sure we had the numbers right. After the verification process, everybody’s data changed a bit.”