A new report says four main causes led to the catastrophic Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) fly ash spill that dumped a devastating 5.4 million cubic yards—over one billion gallons—of toxic coal sludge into Tennessee’s Emory and Clinch rivers and the 300 acres surrounding the TVA Kingston plant. According to KnoxNews, William Walton, AECOM engineer, and TVA’s Chief Operating Officer, Bill McCullum, recently discussed the report.

In addition to a layer of unstable ash sludge—“slimes”—that went undetected, the “construction of retaining walls on top of the ash,” “saturation of the stored ash,” and “pressure exerted by rising stacks,” led “to this problem,” said Walton, who added that, “It’s almost a perfect storm,” quoted KnoxNews. Walton said the slimes were “comprised of fine particles of fly ash, water, and sediments underneath the ash stacked in one area of the pond,” explained KnoxNews, which noted that Walton compared the consistency to that of yogurt. (more…)

Following the worst crash in the Washington DC Metro’s 33-year history, it has been revealed that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made recommendations years ago that, said McClatchy Newspapers, were needed because of passenger vulnerability to “catastrophic damage” in the event of a crash. The collision killed nine and injured 80 people, some critically.

The NTSB recommended—three years ago—that the Metro replace the type of rail car that was involved in the historic crash because of the cars alleged vulnerabilities, said McClatchy Newspapers. Although some of the cars have been in operation over 30 years—since 1976, in some cases—the Metro kept the dangerous cars due to financial constraints, reported McClatchy Newspapers. (more…)

Six months have passed since the catastrophic December 22 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) fly ash spill that dumped a devastating 5.4 million cubic yards—over one billion gallons—of coal sludge into Tennessee’s Emory and Clinch rivers and the 300 acres surrounding its Kingston plant. Now, reports WBIR, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—now in charge of the cleanup—says ash will be removed from the Emory River by next spring. Dredging is underway.

Leo Francendese, the EPA On-Scene Coordinator who began handling the cleanup early last month, said he will continue with cleanup efforts until all of the ash is removed from the Emory River, at which time another coordinator will come in to handle ash that did not enter the water, said WBIR. Francendese told 10News, “I sincerely believe spring 2010 is doable and maybe we can shave even more time off of that,” explaining that crews dredge over 7,000 cubic yards of ash from the Emory daily and he expects that to increase shortly to more than double at 15,000 cubic yards daily, said WBIR. When Francendese took over last month, the TVA was dredging about 1,000 cubic yards daily, noted WBIR. (more…)

At least 9 are dead following a rear-end crash of two Washington, DC Metro subway trains yesterday. The Metro crash, which occurred during rush hour, also injured more than 70 people, United Press International (UPI) is reporting.

Officials are calling yesterday’s Metro crash the worst in the system’s 33 year history. The collision occurred when one train stopped short of the Fort Totten station - near the Maryland border - and was rammed from behind from the second train, UPI said. The second train came to rest on top of the first - something that indicates it was traveling at a high rate of speed. The Los Angeles Times reported that the crash occurred around 5:00 p.m. on the Metro’s Red Line, one of its busiest routes. (more…)

Following the devastating December 22 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) fly ash spill, attention has been focused on the health hazards of coal ash facilities and emergency response protocols. A lack of the mandatory emergency response protocols adversely affected delivery of critical information and cost the TVA $510,000 for a contractor knowledgeable with appropriate procedures, said KnoxvilleBiz.com, citing a just-released Inspector General’s report. The Inspector General is an independent TVA watchdog.

The catastrophic spill dumped a massive 5.4 million cubic yards—over one billion gallons—of coal sludge into Tennessee’s Emory and Clinch rivers and the 300 acres surrounding its Kingston plant. Now, the Inspector General’s report states that the utility’s key executives—those responsible for emergency response—were unable to speak “emergency response language,” and, instead Googled for universal terms and concepts required in such situations, said KnoxvilleBiz. (more…)

Since the catastrophic Buffalo plane crash earlier this year that caused the death of 50 people, government has been focusing on increasing airline safety regulations. RTTNews reported that those speaking before a United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation agreed that airline safety regulations call for improvement, but offered different solutions.

Witnesses, advocates, experts, and surviving family members spoke before the Senate subcommittee, said RTTNews, regarding pilot training’s and crew behavior’s impact on air safety. (more…)

Since the devastating December 22 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) fly ash spill that dumped a massive 5.4 million cubic yards—over one billion gallons—of coal sludge into Tennessee’s Emory and Clinch rivers and the 300 acres surrounding its Kingston plant, attention has been focused on the health hazards of coal ash facilities.

According to the Environment News Service, there are 44 coal combustion waste sites nationwide that have been identified as a “high hazard” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Interestingly, according to Senator Barbara Boxer, the EPA cannot disclose the location of these hazardous sites, reports the Environmental News Service. Senator Boxer is the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the EPA. (more…)

Following the fatal Continental Flight 3407 crash that killed all 49 crew and passengers and one resident on the ground in Buffalo, NY on February 12, federal officials will be increasing pilot training program inspections at regional airlines, reports the Associated Press (AP).

Last month, the Chicago Tribune reported that investigators told a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) panel that an early-warning alarm might have alerted the crew to the drop in speed that preceded the tragic Buffalo crash. The plane involved was a Colgan Air-operated Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprop. (more…)

A fatal Yamaha Rhino accident in upstate New York is raising fresh concerns about the safety about the popular off-road vehicle. Though the victim in this incident was not wearing a seat belt or helmet, his father claims he was not aware the Rhino had been involved in dozens of fatal rollover accidents over the past several years.

Wyatt Spencer, 13 -years-old, was killed last Thursday in Knox, NY when the Yamaha Rhino he was riding rolled over last Thursday afternoon. A friend who was riding in the Yamaha as a passenger was not injured. (more…)

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just released a report about child drowning deaths and injuries in pools and spas in anticipation of this Memorial Day weekend as pools open nationwide.

According to agency data, nearly 300 children under the age of five drown in pools and spas annually; about 3,000 suffer pool- or spa-related injuries requiring hospital emergency room care. Two-thirds of all pool- and spa-related deaths and injuries involve children between one and two years of age, with 80 percent of all drowning deaths occurring in residential settings. Between 1999 and 2008, there were 83 reports of pool and spa entrapments, including 11 deaths and 69 injuries. Since 1999, 14 percent of the reported pool and spa suction/entrapment incidents were fatal. Children become caught in a pool’s suction and suffer disembowelment, evisceration, paralysis, scarring, permanent welting, and drowning. (more…)