The Government Accountability Office finds that 26 coal-burning power plants have reported spills or other unpermitted releases of coal ash from 35 surface impoundments over the past decade. More...

A company wants to place coal ash from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston power plant into an old mine atop a nearby mountain. But environmentalists and local residents oppose the plan, citing potential health problems. More...

The federal government has released information to environmental groups showing there are 584 coal ash dumps across the country -- almost double the number previously identified. But some utilities including Duke Energy, Progress Energy and the Southern Co. are still withholding data on their dumps, claiming it's "confidential business information." More...

New research by scientists with Duke University and the Georgia Institute of Technology details hazards from the coal ash spilled last year from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston power plant. The findings come as TVA considers shutting down some of its older coal plants. More...

A law toughening regulation of coal ash dumps passes in North Carolina, where there are more high-hazard facilities than any other state. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Valley Authority revises hazard ratings for its ash ponds -- but should companies really be making that call? More...

The governor of North Carolina -- the state that has more "high-hazard" coal ash dumps than any other -- endorses legislation to increase oversight. But what about the dangers lurking elsewhere? More...

Newly released test results of samples taken from a waterway near last year's massive ash spill show dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals. Is it really a good idea to encourage people to play in the water? More...

North Carolina is the state with the most sites -- a dozen -- where a failure like the recent one in Tennessee could kill significant numbers of people. Meanwhile, North Carolina-based Duke Energy has the most facilities on the list with 10. More...

Engineers say the massive ash spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston plant last December was caused by a unique set of factors, but watchdogs are skeptical. Are other disasters waiting to happen at U.S. coal plants? More...

The Inspector General says the federal corporation released inaccurate information to the public. TVA chafes at the charge -- but a closer look reveals the audit actually understates the effort to downplay the environmental hazards. More...

The Environmental Protection Agency has identified 44 coal ash disposal sites so hazardous that their failure would imperil the lives of nearby residents -- but it won't tell the public where they are, citing security concerns. What about citizens' right to know? More...

JUNE 2009 | A new study has found that exposure to arsenic -- a cancer-causing element emitted in large quantities by coal-burning power plants and other industrial facilities -- made mice more likely to experience the most severe effects of swine flu. So why are some lawmakers fighting regulations that would better protect Americans from arsenic pollution? More...

Coal combustion waste like the stuff that spilled from the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston power plant back in December is being spread on food crops across the South. But just how safe is the practice, which isn't regulated by the federal government? More...

A new analysis of water samples collected downstream of the massive coal ash spill in Tennessee show levels of heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium and lead exceeding various federal standards. Environmental advocates call for more testing -- and better regulation of coal ash. More...

A independent scientific analysis of the radiation risk from TVA's massive coal ash spill in eastern Tennessee shows how the company downplayed the danger. More...

A slow-motion environmental catastrophe is unfolding across the U.S. caused by poorly regulated dumping of coal combustion waste into abandoned mines. More...

One month since a massive coal ash waste dam burst at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant, authorities are still trying to understand the catastrophe's full environmental health impact. More...

Under an order issued by Tennessee environmental regulators, the company must reimburse the state for its work following the massive Dec. 22 coal waste spill and hand over documents that could shed light on the dam's collapse. More...

Alabama is now dealing with a spill of 10,000 gallons of coal waste -- a different kind than the stuff that inundated a Tenneessee community last month -- from a power plant storage pond into a tributary of the Tennessee River. How many more disasters will it take before the federal government regulates these obviously dangerous coal waste impoundments? More...

The spill of over 1 billion gallons of toxic coal sludge in Eastern Tennessee before Christmas was not only one of the biggest environmental disasters in history -- it also exposed the myth of "clean coal." More...