Sierra Club is reporting that the Trump administration is proposing dangerous rollbacks to vital coal ash rules, which could put communities at risk of toxic pollution. It highlighted the 2008 Kingston, Tennessee, coal ash spill as a devastating environmental disaster.
The organization detailed the experience of Tommy Johnson, who worked 16-hour days cleaning up nearly a billion gallons of toxic coal ash, a waste product containing arsenic, mercury, and other dangerous chemicals. It said Johnson later died from complications linked to coal ash exposure. His wife, Betty Johnson, subsequently spoke before the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the dangers, emphasizing that the EPA should work for the people, not corporations.
Sierra Club said that if these proposed rollbacks move forward, coal plants could continue dumping toxic waste into waterways, threatening communities' drinking water and lives. It noted that Betty Johnson has spent years fighting to ensure her husband's story is not forgotten and that such disasters are not repeated, realizing that similar issues are occurring nationwide. The organization stressed that current decisions will determine whether more workers and families are harmed or if polluters are held accountable.