TVA Coal Sludge and Health Risks

16 December, 2010 - Now, a problem with US manufactured dry wall in homes

UPDATE: 15 December, 2010 Federal failure on Chinese drywall

By Aaron Kessler and JOAQUIN SAPIEN, ProPublica

Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010

( page of 11 )

For the thousands of U.S. homeowners who are grappling with the financial and emotional trauma caused by defective Chinese drywall, one thing is now clear: The federal government is woefully unequipped to help them with a product defect as expensive and widespread as this one.

June 11, 2010: US drywall now contains toxic coal ash 

From 2007 Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste: Burning away all the pesky carbon and other impurities, coal power plants produce heaps of radiation

See also: Mold problems and flooding: Lessons to be learned from Katrina

UPDATE: 9 April, 2010 - Judge Awards Families $2.6M Over Chinese Drywall

UPDATE: 3 April, 2010 - Feds: Homes with Chinese drywall must be gutted

UPDATE: 24 June, 2009 -

Public Not Allowed to Know Location of Hazardous Coal Ash Sites
by Environmental News Service (ENS)
EPA Withholds Locations of 'High Hazard' Coal Ash Sites

WASHINGTON, DC - There are 44 coal combustion waste sites nationwide that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified as "high hazard," but the agency cannot make the locations of these hazardous sites public, Senator Barbara Boxer told reporters today. The California senator chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees the federal environmental agency.
Complete Article...

This item was originally posted in December, 2008. It is re-posted now because of the dry wall issue.
UPDATE: 8 May

'Stinky' Drywall Imported From China Raises Health And Safety Concerns

ScienceDaily (2009-05-07) -- Homeowners throughout the United States are complaining of stinky odors, copper pipe and wire corrosion, and respiratory problems in an ongoing crisis that officials say is linked to drywall imported from China. ... > read full article

UPDATE: 18 April -
Fla. to test air in homes with Chinese drywall
UPDATE: 14 April -
Coal sludge and health risks apply to dry wall from China.
Thank you to Scott Patterson for letting me post his comments. He is in the business of home inspection.

Toxic Chinese Drywall might be in your home!

Over the past few months, owners of newer homes nationwide have been complaining of drywall that smells like rotten eggs. In several cases, they have had to leave their home because the smell was so bad. In addition to the putrid smell, many homeowners have reported problems with air conditioning and other systems that are likely related to the defective Chinese drywall. This is being called the next EIFS like disaster in the real estate market!

Many have spent hundreds and even thousands of dollars - to have air conditioning, pipes and wiring repaired. Usually, drywall is manufactured in the United States, but a shortage between 2004 and 2006 prompted many builders to buy drywall from China.

Most of the reported problems stem from drywall imported from China during the construction boom years of 2004-2005. Florida and the Gulf Coast states have been the first to report and have issue with this drywall showing up but it also showing up in non-coastal areas.

Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. of China, a subsidiary of German-based manufacturer Knauf, is the company at the focus of these drywall problems. If your newer home smells like sulfur or rotten eggs, you may have defective Chinese drywall. The problem is coming from coal ash that was mixed into the gypsum drywall compound. It appears that China was attempting to get rid of their coal ash problems by mixing it with the drywall compound. When the drywall is exposed to moisture, such as high humidity a chemical reaction starts. The result of this reaction is the production of Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfuric acid gas. This is the rotten egg smell that is present with the drywall.

This drywall is responsible for the destruction of the copper coils in HVAC units in the homes that it has been installed in. The corrosive off gassing is also responsible for damaging many other components in the homes from the copper electrical to the nails and screws that are holding everything together in the home.

If you think that you might have Chinese Drywall, you should contact a reputable home inspector who is familiar with this problem. If you need help locating an inspector just give me a call and I might know of a person in your area. As this new discovery is just starting to rear its ugly head, many are not aware of this problem. Call Scott Patterson at 615-302-113 if you have a problem or question.

The author of this informative notice is Scott Patterson. Scott is a nationally recognized home inspector who works out of the Nashville TN area and holds multiple state home inspector licenses. This may not be reproduced with out written permission from the author. Copyright 2009

See also -
Dusts From Drywall
Tainted Chinese Drywall
-------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: 2 January, 2009 - The Christian Science Monitor has a very good article on this situation that points out the lax requirements dating back the the corporate influence in the Clinton Administration. Lax EPA regulations continued during the outgoing Bush regime. One issue similar to the Cataldo Mission toxic site is a waste repository being built with no liner. Obviously this is a major issue needing to be addressed by the newly elected administration.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The coal sludge ponds that failed, as reported in media reports recently, raise health issues. It is good to see that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is planning to test the water in the area hit by this flood of waste. And certainly it seems as if the damage done to peoples homes and lives is being addressed.

I work with a group that is in community that has been the victim of mine waste for over 100 years. The information I develop for them on health is shared with other groups who are dealing with the impact of mining waste.

In the news stories there has been mention that the coal waste is radioactive. Coal waste also leaves arsenic in the water as well as the possibility for other heavy metal leaching.

TVA would be well advised to supply all those harmed in this tragedy with high quality vitamin C and iodine products. Additionally, a very specific product containing both vitamin C and specialized essences of garlic (equal to 35 cloves of the full spectrum of garlic's benefits) is appropriate.

Vitamin C is an excellent chelator and will help remove heavy metal waste from the body. Garlic is a heavy metal chelator as well and it offers other protective support for health. Iodine, such as Iosol or professional products like Prolamine Iodine, even adding the sea vegetables to one's diet, works to reduce the impact of radioactivity.

For more information on clean-up concerns please see Silver Valley Action.

Spill may have permanently altered Tenn. communityBy KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press Writer Kristin M. Hall, Associated Press Writer Tue Dec 30, 3:17 am ET

KINGSTON, Tenn. – A week after more than a billion gallons of coal ash broke through a retention pond dike and roared into a small river cove, the landscape has turned into a muddy pit that's little like the scenic spot that attracted people to live here.

The Emory River is clogged with giant chunks of gray ash sticking out of the water and trees ripped out by their roots and washed downstream during the Dec. 22 disaster. Ducks float in a film of sand-like residue on the surface. Dozens of pieces of heavy equipment are digging along the river to try to clean it of coal ash.

The Kingston Steam Plant, a coal-fired power plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, sits on the confluence of two rivers, about 35 miles west of Knoxville.

The deluge destroyed three houses, displaced a dozen families and damaged 42 parcels of land, but there were no serious injuries.

There are 62 pieces of heavy machinery slowly gathering up the spilled ash from residential roads, railroad tracks and the river, plant manager Ron Hall said Monday.

But no one at TVA can say how long the cleanup will take and how thorough the restoration can be.

"It's almost like someone dying, because it's so permanent," said Crystell Flinn, whose home was swept away.

Hall said workers will pull the sludge out of the river using barges and skimmers, and dump trucks will carry it to a different site at the plant. But the material won't return to the large riverside retention ponds still there.

"We will not likely put in wet ash ponds again, even though they have shown to be structurally integral," TVA environmental executive Anda Ray said Monday. "We are looking at options for what to do long term for that ash disposal, but there are dry ash pond technologies."

In the days after the spill, officials are finding more reasons to be concerned about the possible harmful long-term effects. Federal officials on Monday cautioned residents who use private wells or springs to stop drinking the water.

But the area isn't densely populated, and TVA said that no more than four wells are in the spill area.

Samples taken near the spill slightly exceed drinking water standards for toxic substances, and arsenic in one sample was higher than the maximum level allowed for drinking water, according to a press release from TVA, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies.

Federal officials should have tests on the affected wells sometime this week.

"I think they (the wells) were beyond the actual slide point of the material," EPA spokeswoman Laura Niles said. "There shouldn't be direct impact, but that's why they are sampling."

Authorities have said the municipal water supply is safe to drink.

Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment, but elevated levels can cause ailments ranging from nausea to partial paralysis, and long-term exposure has been linked to several types of cancer, according to the EPA.

Ray said arsenic levels were high because of the type of measurement that the EPA used, which included soil mixed in with water.

"Those samples were not dissolved arsenic," Ray said. "The dissolved arsenic, which is what you look at for drinking water samples, are undetectable in all the cases. The elevated arsenic that the EPA is referring to is the data that we collected when it was stirred up. It is routinely filtered out through all water treatment plants."

Environmental concerns could shift when the sludge containing the fly ash, a fine powdery material, dries out. The EPA and TVA have begun air monitoring and on Monday advised people to avoid activities that could stir up dust, such as children or pets playing outside.

The dust can contain metals, including arsenic, that irritate the skin and can aggravate pre-existing conditions like asthma, Niles said.

The EPA recommends that anyone exposed to the dust should wash thoroughly with soap and water and wash the affected clothes separately from other garments.

Ray said TVA will start installing sprinkler systems in areas where the ash has dried out to keep it moist.

Knoxville-based TVA supplies electricity to Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press

Read more »

Posted in: 2009,arsenic,Bush,Clinch Mountain,Clinton,coal waste,EPA lax regulations,failed storage pond,health,heavy metal,iodine,lead,radioactivie waste,TVA,vitamin C

Medicaid Reduction in Service as Bush Prepares to Leave Office.

The new regulation jeopardizes community-based health services, including screening, diagnostic and dental services for children, as well as lab and ambulance services.

In line with the current administration's plans to issue, or relax, many economic, environmental, health and safety rules before they leave office on Jan. 20, this impact on the poor is a political favor now for a surge in costs later as illness rates rise and insurance payments fail to meet cost.

Keep in mind that members of Congress did little to address this sweeping change, so hope they will re-visit the issue in January.

November 8, 2008
New U.S. Rule Pares Outpatient Medicaid Services
By ROBERT PEAR
WASHINGTON — In the first of an expected avalanche of post-election regulations, the Bush administration on Friday narrowed the scope of services that can be provided to poor people under Medicaid’s outpatient hospital benefit.

Public hospitals and state officials immediately protested the action, saying it would reduce Medicaid payments to many hospitals at a time of growing need.

The new rule conflicts with efforts by Congressional leaders and governors to increase federal aid to the states for Medicaid as part of a new economic action plan.

President-elect Barack Obama has endorsed those efforts. At a news conference on Friday, he said that legislation to stimulate the economy should include “assistance to state and local governments” so they would not have to lay off workers or increase taxes.

In a notice published Friday in the Federal Register, the Bush administration said it had to clarify the definition of outpatient hospital services because the current ambiguity had allowed states to claim excessive payments.

“This rule represents a new initiative to preserve the fiscal integrity of the Medicaid program,” the notice said.

But John W. Bluford III, the president of Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City, Mo., said: “This is a disaster for safety-net institutions like ours. The change in the outpatient rule will mean a $5 million hit to us. Medicaid accounts for about 55 percent of our business.”

Alan D. Aviles, the president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the largest municipal health care system in the country, said: “The new rule forces us to consider reducing some outpatient services like dental and vision care. State and local government cannot pick up these costs. If anything, we expect to see additional cuts at the state level.”

Carol H. Steckel, the commissioner of the Alabama Medicaid Agency, said the rule would reduce federal payments for outpatient services at two large children’s hospitals, in Birmingham and Mobile.

Richard J. Pollack, the executive vice president of the American Hospital Association, said these concerns were valid.

“The new regulation,” Mr. Pollack said, “will jeopardize important community-based services, including screening, diagnostic and dental services for children, as well as lab and ambulance services.”

Herb B. Kuhn, the deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, defended the rule.

“We are not trying to deny services,” Mr. Kuhn said. “We want to pay for them more accurately and appropriately. Payments for some services were way higher than they should be.”

The rule narrows the definition of outpatient hospital services to exclude those that could be provided and covered outside a hospital.

In May, the White House said it wanted to avoid the rush of “midnight regulations” that had occurred at the end of other administrations. But Bush administration officials said this week that they still intended to issue, or relax, many economic, environmental, health and safety rules before they leave office on Jan. 20.

Medicaid, financed jointly by the federal government and the states, provides health insurance to more than 50 million low-income people. Services can often be billed at a higher rate if they are performed in the outpatient department of a hospital rather than in a doctor’s office or a free-standing clinic. Hospitals generally have higher overhead costs.

Matt D. Salo, a health policy specialist at the National Governors Association, said, “The new rule is consistent with the administration’s effort to squeeze, shrink and flatten Medicaid spending.”

In a recent letter, the governors urged Congress to increase the federal share of Medicaid for at least two years. With state tax revenues plunging, many governors are considering cuts in Medicaid and other programs. Such cuts, they say, would further depress economic activity.

Ann Clemency Kohler, the executive director of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, said: “The new rule is a pretty sweeping change from longtime Medicaid policy. Since the beginning of the program, states have been allowed to define hospital outpatient services. We have to question why the rule is being issued now, three days after the election, with a new administration coming in.”

The rule was proposed in September 2007. It takes effect on Dec. 8, six weeks before Mr. Bush leaves office.

Ms. Kohler said the rule would cut “money going to the states, to safety net providers, at a time when states are really being stressed.”

“More and more people are coming onto Medicaid,” she said. “People are losing their jobs and running out of unemployment benefits. Some employers can no longer afford to provide health insurance to their workers.”

In the last 18 months, Congress has imposed moratoriums on six other rules that would have cut Medicaid payments. But the administration says Congress did not block the rule issued on Friday.

Larry S. Gage, the president of the National Association of Public Hospitals, said, “We will urge Congress to extend the moratorium to this rule, and we will ask the Obama administration to withdraw it.”

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

And in other news we find Big Pharma (one great group of very substantial contributions to 'W') being cited for prolific Medicaid billing fraud.

Kansas is suing to recover millions in over payment -

According to the lawsuit, the Medicaid program spent more $160 million on meds last year. And the suit alleges the price for a drug paid by the state, based on a fraudulently-reported Average Wholesale Price and other price indicators, often bears no relationship to the true price and can exceed 100 percent to 200 percent above the actual price.

One example cited - Dey reported an AWP of $44.10 for Ipratropium Bromide, yet the AG claims the drugmaker sold the same drug to retail pharmacists for $8.35 - a 355 percent difference. And Glaxo reported an AWP of $128.24 for Zofran, but charged $22.61- a 450 difference.

Perhaps is the current administration would move to prosecute Big Pharma for the egregious activity the recovery would save Medicaid from current cuts. The FDA might be cleaned up a little at the same time, and don't they need an overhaul!

WARNING: I once blew the whistle on perpetrators of Medicare fraud involving Washington state. Instead of doing an accurate investigation, Mike Gregoire, husband of the the current governor and formerly with the Medicaid Fraud unit in the AGs office (at a time when his wife was AG), he feel into lock step with the typical bureaucratic cover-up: Protect the System First.

Fortunately my contacts at the Region X HHS OIG office was glad to take my data. DOJ was prosecuting the company I tried to report to Gregoire for insurance fraud in ten states.

The FEDS won this case and got a $372 million settlement.

Former state legislator Dave Schmidt did do a proper investigation, finding egregious errors by the state. He assisted me in regaining my status. DOH still is covering up. Mike and some DOH cronies continued the fraud by "loosing" legal documents and ignoring fact. Funny though that the AAG assigned to represent the state came out in favor of my facts and me. Former gov Gary Locke ignored the facts too and went so far as to cover up for DOH lies, at a time when he agreed to a request by a US Congressman to investigate. Locke refused to look at my eveidence. Locke and Mike's wife are law school grads and should know very well about due process and equal protection. I can't say for sure, but they went very far to attack the messenger here. And lost some recovery money as well. For shame.

Fraud has many faces.

Read more »

Posted in: Bush,Christine Gregoire,community health care cost increases,fraud,Gary Locke.,health news,hospital costs,illness rates increase,Medicaid,Mike Gregoire,outpatiient services,poor