The recent coal-ash disaster in Harriman, Tennessee has sparked new controversy over the effective storage of coal power plant fly ash, and whether that ash poses a health threat to nearby humans and the environment. Scientists have known for years that coal ash contains several heavy metals, including arsenic, chromium, lead, and selenium, which are obviously known as heavy carcinogens. The metals and chemicals are also known to cause significant neurological damage in humans and most animal species. Why then have we not regulated the disposal of toxic coal ash? Why do we allow it to leach into our public drinking water and waft into our lungs? Why is the coal lobby still tauting “clean coal” as the answer to environmentally hazardous power generation? See an article in the New York Times describing this recent coal ash release and its potential effects on the immediate area surrounding the Tennessee Valley Authority-owned coal power plant: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/us/25sludge.html?hp