I have been a Johnson City resident for most of my life, and I claim Appalachia as my home.I had not heard of coal ash until the Kingston, Tenn., coal slurry spill that occurred last year.

This incident was alarming and tragic and was said to have been a hundred times worse than the Exxon-Valdez oil spill that occurred in Alaska in 1989.

I trembled with shock when I witnessed the aftermath of the slurry break and destruction on national news.

Coal ash, also called slurry, had broken loose from a holding pond and plowed through resident homes, covering their land and rolling into the Emory River.

The coal ash belonged to the Tennessee Valley Authority which is overseen by the federal government and owned by the United States of America.

Coal ash is the byproduct made by burning coal – fossil fuel – to make electricity.

How safe is coal ash?

Coal makes waste and coal generates more than 130 million tons of waste annually.

Coal waste contains toxins, heavy metals and contaminants such as mercury, cadmium, thallium and arsenic that create major health and life concerns.

How safe is coal waste?

Coal wastes from slurry ponds leach these contaminants into groundwater and nearly all slurry ponds leak.

A high percentage of fresh water in the United States is underground and fresh water is now more precious than ever.

How safe is coal ash?

When the sun bakes the coal ash, it turns into a talc-like powder that will wreak havoc upon the lungs.

Some people say that coal ash is as safe as dirt while other people say that coal ash is toxic and poisonous. Others believe that coal ash should be labeled as a hazardous waste.

Furthermore, coal ash is not regulated by the federal government.

Consumer products are being made from coal ash waste. They include bowling balls, countertops and carpets. The ash is also put into roadbeds, concrete blocks and cements. It is also currently used in agriculture that grows our food and feeds our livestock.

We should turn on our cognitive light bulb and examine the mounting issues that involve fossil fuel burning, coal ash waste management, mountaintop removal, the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act and stop the potential harms and hazards these practices contribute to contaminating and poisoning Appalachia’s existence.

Perhaps, one day people will drive through the area and say, “Don’t blink or you’ll miss the mountains.”

Perhaps human life is so short people don’t see the notion that profits are preferred over the safety, health and welfare of people and the environment.

Shouldn’t clean water and clean air be included in basic and human civil rights?

Should we not be protecting our resources instead of exploiting them?

We should be asking the government these questions regarding change to Appalachia’s natural resources and the welfare of its people and the environment that surrounds these issues.

I won’t hold my breath awaiting an answer to, “How safe is coal ash.” In the meantime; I will have a drink of water and demand change to these threatening and existing issue.

If you believe that clean water and clean air are a necessity to the existence of life then you should do the same.