Two years after ash spill, TVA denying health harm

Two years after the catastrophic coal ash spill at an East Tennesee power plant, some homeowners in Roane County say they are having respiratory problems, buying air filters and hosing away toxic-laden dust.
The Dec. 22, 2008 spill of 5.4 million cubic yards of toxin-laden sludge in the Emory River and on privately held land beside the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Plant has spurred some to join a protracted court fight.
Owners of more than 170 properties negotiated buyouts and have moved with TVA’s $1.2 billion cleanup continuing.
The Swan Pond community is quieter, with only a scattering of holiday sparkle in largely vacant neighborhoods.
TVA contends in court filings that dust from the ash spill at the Kingston Plant west of Knoxville is no more harmful than “dust from a ball field or farm land.’’