I've been reading the blog of the Tennessee Coal Ash Survivor Network about the symptoms afflicting the population around the Kingston coal plant disaster. It reminded me about the health problems I had while desperately trying to stop a 5,800 pig factory farm from being built in my small town of 5,400 people. 

I've lived all my life on the Richelieu River and had been trying to stop the pollution that prevented me from being able to swim in it like when I was a child. Knowing that a factory farm and liquid manure spreading was inevitably coming to be upriver from me made me sick--mentally and physically.

I started losing weight: more than 30 pounds in a few months. I started having trouble sleeping: something blissfully unknown to me until then. I started having heart palpitations. Stress made my throat contract so much my voice started to get raspy. A doctor suspected thyroid problems. I started having high blood pressure, something I never had, nor anybody in my family. I went through all kinds of tests while telling all the health people I was seeing that all this was caused by knowing a factory farm was moving into my community. All the tests turned out negative, except for the high blood pressure.  

Three years and half later, the only changes I did to my lifestyle is to use less salt in my cooking and on my food: the palpitations have stopped mostly and my blood pressure is back to normal. I still can't sleep well like I used to but I refuse to take sleeping pills. But I still cry for no reason and my mood swings from being mad, disgusted, discouraged, depressed and furious again. 

The factory farm is built and running now, and I can see the water in the river is getting dirtier. Even when everything is frozen solid and covered with a foot of snow or more, the river water has this greenish kaki tinge to it: something I have a very hard time understanding.

The 600 strong citizens group we formed to try to stop the factory farm is now dissolved, and I've lost touch with almost everybody. Life goes on, it seems.

I do not want to minimize the health problems the Tennessee people are having because of the fly ash, far from it. When your gut and your body is telling you that something is very wrong, it is wise to listen. The hopelessness of the situation is a big part of the problem. If TVA can include the input of the regular folks living around the plant in their Corrective Action Plan, the neighbors may feel some kind of empowerment and start feeling better. Like the cleanup of the Emory and Clinch Rivers, normal living around the disaster will take a while, if ever it's possible again.