Martin County coal slurry spill: Difference between revisions
RobertDC32 (talk | contribs) Corrected who was Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee at the time of the contribution |
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U.S. Secretary of Labor [[Elaine Chao]], wife of Sen. [[Mitch McConnell]] (R-Ky.), oversaw the Mine Safety and Health Administration at the time. Chao placed a McConnell staffer in charge of the MSHA investigation into the spill. In 2002, a $5,600 fine was levied. That September, Massey gave $100,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which was [[National_Republican_Senatorial_Committee|chaired by Senator Bill Frist]] of Tennessee. |
U.S. Secretary of Labor [[Elaine Chao]], wife of Sen. [[Mitch McConnell]] (R-Ky.), oversaw the Mine Safety and Health Administration at the time. Chao placed a McConnell staffer in charge of the MSHA investigation into the spill. In 2002, a $5,600 fine was levied. That September, Massey gave $100,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which was [[National_Republican_Senatorial_Committee|chaired by Senator Bill Frist]] of Tennessee. |
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According to a [[WSAZ-TV]] News story [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfzkkn_10-years-later-martin-county-ky-coal-sludge-spill_news] in 2010, Massey Energy spent $46 million in cleanup efforts and an additional $3 million in local fines. And reported that "some |
According to a [[WSAZ-TV]] News story [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfzkkn_10-years-later-martin-county-ky-coal-sludge-spill_news] in 2010, Massey Energy spent $46 million in cleanup efforts and an additional $3 million in local fines. And reported that "some citizens say the creek is cleaner now than before the spill." |
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In 2005 [[Appalshop]] filmmaker Robert Salyer released a documentary entitled ''[[Sludge (film)|Sludge]]'', chronicling the continuing story of the Martin County disaster, the resulting federal investigation, and the looming threat of coal sludge ponds throughout the coalfield region. In the wake of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill, Appalshop has provided a web stream of ''Sludge'' for the public [http://appalshop.org/sludge/]. |
In 2005 [[Appalshop]] filmmaker Robert Salyer released a documentary entitled ''[[Sludge (film)|Sludge]]'', chronicling the continuing story of the Martin County disaster, the resulting federal investigation, and the looming threat of coal sludge ponds throughout the coalfield region. In the wake of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill, Appalshop has provided a web stream of ''Sludge'' for the public [http://appalshop.org/sludge/]. |
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Revision as of 14:56, 16 August 2012
The Martin County Sludge Spill was an accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000 when the bottom of a coal sludge impoundment owned by Massey Energy in Martin County, Kentucky, USA, broke into an abandoned underground mine below. The slurry came out of the mine openings, sending an estimated 306,000,000 US gallons (1.16×109 L; 255,000,000 imp gal) of sludge down two tributaries of the Tug Fork River. By morning, Wolf Creek was oozing with the black waste; on Coldwater Fork, a 10-foot (3.0 m) wide stream became a 100-yard (91 m) expanse of thick sludge.
The spill was over five feet deep in places and covered nearby residents' yards. The spill polluted hundreds of miles (300 – 500 km) of the Big Sandy River and its tributaries and the Ohio River. The water supply for over 27,000 residents was contaminated, and all aquatic life in Coldwater Fork and Wolf Creek was killed. The spill was 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill (12 million US gallons (45,000 m3)) and one of the worst environmental disasters ever in the southeastern United States, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.[citation needed] The spill was exceeded in volume by the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill in 2008.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), oversaw the Mine Safety and Health Administration at the time. Chao placed a McConnell staffer in charge of the MSHA investigation into the spill. In 2002, a $5,600 fine was levied. That September, Massey gave $100,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which was chaired by Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee.
According to a WSAZ-TV News story [1] in 2010, Massey Energy spent $46 million in cleanup efforts and an additional $3 million in local fines. And reported that "some citizens say the creek is cleaner now than before the spill."
In 2005 Appalshop filmmaker Robert Salyer released a documentary entitled Sludge, chronicling the continuing story of the Martin County disaster, the resulting federal investigation, and the looming threat of coal sludge ponds throughout the coalfield region. In the wake of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill, Appalshop has provided a web stream of Sludge for the public [2].
See also
External links
- Sludge Website for the 2005 documentary about the Martin County Sludge Spill
- SLUDGE SLINGING Article about mining engineer Jack Spadaro who has dedicated his life to preventing coal sludge spills
- A Toxic Cover-Up? Article about Jack Spadaro and the Martin County sludge spill.
- Internal Review of MSHA’s Actions At the Big Branch Refuse Impoundment.
- [3] News Story about the clean up and effects 10 years after the spill.