- Sludge (film)
Sludge is a
2005 documentary film byAppalshop filmmaker Robert Salyer chronicling theMartin County Sludge Spill that was an accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000 when acoal sludge impoundment inMartin County, Kentucky , broke through an underground mine below, propelling 306 million gallons of sludge down two tributaries of theTug Fork River . The movie documents the continuing story of the Martin County disaster, the resulting federal investigation, and the looming threat of coal sludge ponds throughout the coalfield region.In the United States today, coal is the largest single source of fuel for energy production. Annually, the country mines over a billion tons of coal. Coal waste is a consequence of this consumption; The Mine Safety and Health Administration has estimated that there are over 235 sludge ponds throughout the region with the potential to break into an underground mine, as the Martin County pond did in
2000 .See also
*
Martin County Sludge Spill
*Buffalo Creek Flood
*Appalshop External links
* [http://www.appalshop.org/sludge/ "Sludge"] Website for the 2005 documentary about the Martin County Sludge Spill
* [http://magazine.audubon.org/incite/incite0405.html "SLUDGE SLINGING"] Article about mining engineer Jack Spadaro who has dedicated his life to preventing coal sludge spills
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.