Tennessee Valley Authority
Kingston Ash Slide
Solids/Ash Testing Results
Testing of the Kingston ash samples shows that concentrations of metals are well below the limits for classification as a hazardous waste. The data shows that the concentrations of most metals in the ash are within the range of concentrations found in natural soils in Tennessee or background levels in soils in the local area.
The only exceptions are that two of the 47 samples collected by TVA had Thallium slightly higher (by about 10%) than the range found in Tennessee soils. The overall average for Thallium in the ash falls right in the middle of the range for that element in Tennessee soil.
Extensive nationwide studies of coal ash in recent decades have provided a body of scientific literature that gives expected ranges for these metals. Much of what we have found falls on the low end of those ranges and is more like Tennessee soil.
TVA has taken solids samples to test for toxic metals in areas where there were ash deposits. The results of those tests are shown below in a plotted format. A map is also included to show sampling locations.
For comparison, historic data from 2002 for these same areas is also available.
View ash test results (PDF, 4.49 mb)
Information From January 15, 2009 Open House
Historic Data
2002 Ponded Fly Ash From Dredge Cell (PDF, 16 kb)
2002 Bottom Ash From Pond (PDF, 16 kb)
2002 Fly Ash From Hopper (PDF, 16 kb)
Note: PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader.