Appalachian Studies
Mountain Top Removal and the Destruction of Appalachia
A public screening of "Sludge" with guest speaker Jack Spadaro
Jack Spadaro, former Superintendent of the National Mine Safety and Health Academy in Beaver, West Virginia, found himself being demoted to a Pittsburgh office in 2003 because of his stance toward his employer's assessment of the October 11, 2000 slurry pond dam breakage in Martin County, Kentucky, that destroyed over 100 miles of stream and hundres of homes. It also caused massive environmental destruction by dumping 306 million gallons of coal sludge down two tributaries of the Tug Fork River. Whether he quit or was fired is according to many a matter of semantics. Spadaro argued that the investigation of the spill significantly played down the role of the mine's owner Massey Energy. He also documented how no-bid contracts were being given to friends and business associates of MSHA officials. Currently, Spadaro works as a mine safety & health and environmental specialist. He has a 38-year career safeguarding people from environmental and health and safety hazards related to mining. He continues to serve as an expert witness and consultant in environmental and mine health and safety litigation.
Although it received little media coverage at the time, the Martin County slurry disaster was 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster and, according to the EPA, one of the worst environmental disasters in the southeastern United States. Sludge, in which Spadaro appears, is the product of over four years of work by Appalshop filmmaker Robert Salyer who brings the story to the present. It reveals in stark detail the hidden costs of America's coal production and the penalty coalfield. Appalachian residents and the planet are paying for cheap electricity and high-energy company profits.
Spadaro will moderate a viewing of Sludge on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 at 7:00 PM in Torgersen 3100 on the Virginia Tech campus. He will then conduct an open question and answer period on issues covered by the documentary and that pertain to his current work as expert witness and coalfield environmental disaster expert. Spadaro has appeared on numerous open television and radio programs including 60 Minutes and National Public Radio. The Appalachian Studies Association has named its annual best Appalachian documentary film award in his honor.
This event is free and open to the public. It is hosted by the Appalachian Studies Program and is co-sponsored by Mountain Justice, the Humanities Program, and the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Tech.
In addition, Mr. Spadaro will lead a seminar on environmental issues in the Appalachian coalfield on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 from noon to 1:15 PM in 225 Major Williams Hall. Please contact Anita Puckett to indicate your intent to attend.
For further information about both events, contact Anita Puckett, 231-9526 or apuckett@vt.edu
A poster with this information has been made; to see a PDF version, click here