Sludge (film)
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2021) |
| Sludge | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Robert Salyer |
Release date | 2005 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Sludge is a 2005 documentary film by Appalshop filmmaker Robert Salyer chronicling the Martin County Sludge Spill that was an accident that occurred after midnight on October 11, 2000 when a coal sludge impoundment in Martin County, Kentucky, broke through an underground mine below, propelling 306 million gallons of sludge down two tributaries of the Tug 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[]
- Buffalo Creek Flood
External links[]
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- English-language films
- History of Kentucky
- Martin County, Kentucky
- Documentary films about environmental issues
- 2005 films
- 2005 documentary films
- Documentary films about coal in the United States
- Documentary films about Appalachia
- Documentary films about disasters
- Environmental documentary film stubs