Martin County Sludge Spill

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The Martin County Sludge Spill was an accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000 when a coal sludge impoundment in Martin County, Kentucky, broke through an underground mine below, propelling 306 million gallons of sludge down two tributaries of the Tug Fork River. By morning, Wolf Creek was oozing with the black waste; on Coldwater Fork, a ten-foot wide stream became a 100-yard expanse of thick sludge. The spill polluted hundreds of miles of waterways, contaminated the water supply for over 27,000 residents, and killed all aquatic life in Coldwater Fork and Wolf Creek. The spill was 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez and one of the worst environmental disasters ever in the southeastern United States, according to the EPA.

In 2005 Appalshop filmmaker Robert Salyer released a documentary entitled Sludge chronicling the continuing story of the Martin County disaster, the resulting federal investigation, and the looming threat of coal sludge ponds throughout the coalfield region.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

  • Sludge Website for the 2005 documentary about the Martin County Sludge Spill
  • SLUDGE SLINGING Article about mining engineer Jack Spadaro who has dedicated his life to preventing coal sludge spills
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