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Update - Last night we reported on a train derailing that was carrying coal ash from the Kingston site to the Perry County landfill. We followed up on that story and found out that it was a lot less spectacular than it sounded. Four fully load cars simply came of the tracks before they departed Kingston while switching. We will stay posted if any new developments occur. There will be a TVA board meeting later this afternoon so I'm sure that the AP desk out of Knoxville will have a report. Our understanding is that in light of the death the cleanup at Kingston would resume today. in an unrelated incident a truck driver delivering pipes to the site of the spill in Tenn was also killed over the weekend. Both incidents highlight the danger involved in both the cleanup, the transport and the storage of the toxic coal ash. Will Perry County and State of Alabama officials try and stop the rest of the transport? Sorry for this being such a short diary, but I think that both of these incidents are very important. I did not want them to just get hidden in my diary about the TVA changing "hazard ratings" that I posted yesterday. Interesting again to note the timing of the decision to self-regulate just last week. An Iowa truck driver died Monday after being crushed by a load of pipe he was delivering to the cleanup site of a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee, authorities said. Larry LaCroix, 55, of Fort Madison, Iowa, died at University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee Valley Authority spokeswoman Barbara Martocci said. LaCroix was injured Monday morning while unloading pipe for dredging machines at the TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant, she said. The cleanup was temporarily halted so safety procedures could be reviewed with the hundreds of workers at the site. More than 5 million cubic yards of coal ash spilled into a river and lakeside homes near the plant on Dec. 22. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified and TVA officials promised a full investigation. "We need to know what happened and why, as soon as possible, so that everyone touched by this accident can make the necessary changes to prevent a recurrence," Anda Ray, TVA's top environmental executive, said in a statement. LaCroix was releasing a hold-down strap on his flatbed trailer when the 20-inch-diameter pipe came loose and rolled on top of him, Martocci said. LaCroix had worked for WW Transport for about seven years, a spokeswoman for the West Burlington, Iowa-based transportation company said. Meanwhile, rail shipments of coal ash from Kingston to a landfill in Perry Co. in Alabama already had been halted by another incident. Four cars loaded with ash derailed while switching tracks at the site on Saturday. The cars remained upright and no ash was released, but 200 to 300 feet of track had to be repaired by TVA and Norfolk Southern railroad. Martocci said some work at the site was expected to resume Tuesday and grief counselors were being made available to help workers. |
