TVA Booklet on Coal Ash Called Dishonest by Researchers
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- TVA distributed a 35-page unbranded booklet titled 'Know the Facts: Coal Ash' at a public meeting, asserting coal ash is not hazardous despite its toxic contaminants.
- Avner Vengosh, chair of environmental quality at Duke University, called the booklet 'unbelievable' and 'like alternative reality,' stating it contains lies and misleads the public.
- Howard Frumkin, former CDC environmental health director, said the booklet makes deceptive claims, including falsely implying EPA found coal ash to be risk-free.
- Southern Alliance for Clean Energy confirmed TVA staff handed out the booklet at a Tennessee public comment session on coal ash remediation plans for the Cumberland Fossil Plant.
- EPA classifies coal ash as 'potentially toxic' and a special waste, noting it can contaminate water and cause cancer—information omitted from the TVA booklet.
- TVA defended the booklet as advancing public understanding using credible sources, but did not respond to questions about its lack of branding or scientific omissions.
- Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy highlighted TVA’s history with coal ash, citing the 2008 Kingston spill that sickened and killed cleanup workers.
Why it matters: Communities near TVA coal plants face ongoing health risks from coal ash, yet the utility is downplaying dangers despite scientific consensus and its own catastrophic history. This undermines public trust and regulatory transparency, especially as TVA shapes cleanup policies affecting groundwater and local health.
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