2023 is the 15th Anniversary of the TVA coal ash spill

 15 years after coal ash spill in Tennessee TVA

2020

KINGSTON, Tenn. (WATE) — People across the region spent Sunday afternoon remembering and honoring those part of the Kingston coal ash spill cleanup.

Sunday’s memorial paid tribute to workers who cleaned up coal ash at the TVA plant following the spill on Dec. 22, 2008, with special focus on those workers who have died or been sickened since the cleanup.

Those in attendance piled in vehicles for a caravan, from Kingston City Park to Swan Pond Sports Complex in Harriman.

Coal ash from the plant went into the Emory River and onto surrounding homes and properties, taking more than six years to finish cleaning up.

Organizers of Sunday’s event said 44 workers died from exposure to toxins, and others workers got sick from the cleanup.