The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today that an ash pond spill at TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant last week left heavy metals in part of the Emory River at levels above what is acceptable for drinking water.

But in a statement given to Roane County authorities, EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said most water samples around the coal plant showed toxic contaminants were still below the level regarded as harmful to humans.

EPA, along with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, is sampling water and soil on more than 300 acres covered by a wall of sludge that spilled out of a broken coal ash pond last Monday.

“Environmental data of the fly ash release so far indicates that several heavy metals are present in the water slightly above drinking water standards, but below concentrations the agency knows to be harmful to humans,” EPA said in its letter to local authorities released today. “The one exception may be arsenic. One sample of river water out of many taken indicates concentrations that are very high and further investigations are in progress.”

Water samples taken downstream at the city of Kingston water intake did not detect arsenic, however, and those samples were within allowable standards for drinking water.

“All of the contaminants reported to date, including arsenic, would most likely be removed from the water by the normal treatment processes that remove dirt and soil from water,” EPA said.

EPA spokeswoman Laura Niles said federal authorities are continuing to sample air, water and soil around the Kingston plant. She urged individuals that come in contact with the fly ash that spilled out of the plant pond last week to wash off the material and avoid breathing the ash if it becomes airborne.

“EPA is not yet sure of the impact of dry fly ash material in the vicinity of the TVA plant since the particles that could become airborne may have been washed downstream.”

For complete coverage see tomorrow’s Times Free Press.