Jury Sides With Workers Sickened During Tennessee Coal Ash Cleanup

A jury has sided with workers who say they were sickened after they were tapped to clean up a massive 2008 coal ash spill in Tennessee.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that a jury found Nov. 7 that Tennessee Valley Authority contractor Jacobs Engineering failed to protect the workers at the Kingston Fossil Fuel Plant.

The workers say they spent more than 60 hours a week at the site, unprotected from the 5.4 million cubic yards of spilled coal ash that contained toxins and heavy metals. More than 30 workers have died and more than 250 are sick.

The plaintiffs asserted Jacobs tampered with safety testing and shredded documentation, which would violate an Environmental Protection Agency order. The TVA hasn’t said what happened to video camera footage from the site.

Topics Pollution