300,000 pounds of boron, over 200 pounds of cadmium, over 15,000 pounds of manganese, roughly 1,500 pounds of selenium, roughly 500,000 pounds of nitrogen, and nearly 40 million pounds of sulfate, according to a report by the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, the Prairie Rivers Network, and the Sierra Club. Tennessee In 2008, the Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County spilled 1.1 billion gallons of coal ash into the Emory and Clinch Rivers and damaged nearby residential areas. It is the largest industrial spill in the U.S. Texas Groundwater surrounding every single one of the 16 coal-burning power plants in Texas has been polluted by coal ash, according to a study by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). Unsafe levels of arsenic, cobalt, lithium, and other contaminants were found in the groundwater near all the ash dump sites. At 12 of the 16 sites, the EIP analysis found levels of arsenic in the groundwater 10 times higher than the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level; arsenic has been found to cause several types of cancer. At 10 of the sites, lithium, which causes neurological disease, was found in the groundwater at concentrations more than 1,000 micrograms per liter, which is 25 times the maximum acceptable level. The report concludes that the fossil fuel industry in Texas has failed to comply with federal regulations on coal ash processing, and state regulators have failed to protect the groundwater. Ecology The effect of fly ash on the environment can vary based on the thermal power plant where it is produced, as well as the proportion of fly ash to bottom ash in the waste product. This is due to the different chemical make-up of the coal based on the geology of the area the coal is found and the burning process of the coal in the power plant. When the coal is combusted, it creates an alkaline dust. This alkaline dust can have a pH ranging from 8 to as high as 12. Fly ash dust can be deposited on topsoil increasing the pH and affecting the plants and animals in the surrounding ecosystem. Trace elements, such as, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, lead, nickel, chromium, cobalt, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, can be found at higher concentrations compared to bottom ash and the parent coal. Fly ash can leach toxic constituents that can be anywhere from one hundred to one thousand times greater than the federal standard for