Jan. 16, 2009
Wheeling Jesuit University's Coal Impoundment Project Leading the Way for Safer Communities
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Wheeling, WV (HNN) – Just a few days before Christmas, a toxic tidal wave containing more than a billion gallons of coal ash and water swept through a small community in Eastern Tennessee, ripping up trees, sending houses off their foundations and leaving behind a hazardous mess.
The Kingston Tennessee fly ash pond is one of more than 1,300 similar dumps across the country. Many of these sites are unregulated at both the state and federal levels. However, West Virginia is leading the way for more rigorous requirements to stabilize dams similar to the one that failed in Tennessee.
West Virginia is no stranger to coal waste disasters. In 1972, more than 125 people were killed and more than 1,000 homes destroyed after a sludge pond burst near Buffalo creek in Logan County. Coal slurry is a pre-combustion waste product from the preparation plant where non-combustible materials are removed from the mined coal before it is transported to the power plant. Coal ash, on the other hand, is a post-combustion waste product captured by pollution control devices from the flue gases of coal burning power plants.
According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), there are 130 coal slurry impoundments within West Virginia, similar to the Tennessee coal ash pond, that are inspected at least every 30 days. However, they are typically monitored by the coal company at least once every seven days.
These inspections, along with early warning and evacuation plans are key to saving lives and protecting the environment. That is why the National Technology Transfer Center and the Center for Educational Technologies at Wheeling Jesuit University developed the Coal Impoundment Project (www.coalimpoundment.org).
The user-friendly website lists the locations of coal impoundments in West Virginia, as well as five other states. People can access real-time information about emergency situations and evacuation plans. In addition to the website, the project’s representatives are reaching out into communities and industry, seeking input on current conditions, assessing reactions to hypothetical problems such as an impoundment failure, and researching technological advances. Experts are also partnering to find alternatives to the use of coal impoundments, as well as identifying new technologies to collect field-data and accuracy at impoundments.
Although most states have action plans in place for dealing with disastrous situations, Tennessee and other states containing impoundments, regardless of type, could benefit from something similar to the Coal Impoundment Program at Wheeling Jesuit University. The program encourages a joint partnership between emergency officials and the community. Training sessions have been held with residents near impoundment sites to explain how they are developed and ways to detect impending failures.
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Wheeling Jesuit University's Coal Impoundment Project Leading the Way for Safer Communities
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Wheeling, WV (HNN) – Just a few days before Christmas, a toxic tidal wave containing more than a billion gallons of coal ash and water swept through a small community in Eastern Tennessee, ripping up trees, sending houses off their foundations and leaving behind a hazardous mess.
The Kingston Tennessee fly ash pond is one of more than 1,300 similar dumps across the country. Many of these sites are unregulated at both the state and federal levels. However, West Virginia is leading the way for more rigorous requirements to stabilize dams similar to the one that failed in Tennessee.
West Virginia is no stranger to coal waste disasters. In 1972, more than 125 people were killed and more than 1,000 homes destroyed after a sludge pond burst near Buffalo creek in Logan County. Coal slurry is a pre-combustion waste product from the preparation plant where non-combustible materials are removed from the mined coal before it is transported to the power plant. Coal ash, on the other hand, is a post-combustion waste product captured by pollution control devices from the flue gases of coal burning power plants.
According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), there are 130 coal slurry impoundments within West Virginia, similar to the Tennessee coal ash pond, that are inspected at least every 30 days. However, they are typically monitored by the coal company at least once every seven days.
These inspections, along with early warning and evacuation plans are key to saving lives and protecting the environment. That is why the National Technology Transfer Center and the Center for Educational Technologies at Wheeling Jesuit University developed the Coal Impoundment Project (www.coalimpoundment.org).
The user-friendly website lists the locations of coal impoundments in West Virginia, as well as five other states. People can access real-time information about emergency situations and evacuation plans. In addition to the website, the project’s representatives are reaching out into communities and industry, seeking input on current conditions, assessing reactions to hypothetical problems such as an impoundment failure, and researching technological advances. Experts are also partnering to find alternatives to the use of coal impoundments, as well as identifying new technologies to collect field-data and accuracy at impoundments.
Although most states have action plans in place for dealing with disastrous situations, Tennessee and other states containing impoundments, regardless of type, could benefit from something similar to the Coal Impoundment Program at Wheeling Jesuit University. The program encourages a joint partnership between emergency officials and the community. Training sessions have been held with residents near impoundment sites to explain how they are developed and ways to detect impending failures.
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Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
