Tennessee Family Files Lawsuit Against Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Seeking Medical and Environmental Testing

Lawsuit Arises from Release of 1.1 Billion Gallons of Toxic Coal Ash into
Residential Areas and Nearby Waterways
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(Business Wire)--
The Giltnane family of Kingston and Rockwood, Tennessee, along with Ian and
Sabrina Cullen, of Kingston, Tennessee announced today that they have filed a
lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) seeking medical monitoring
of their families and other families after potential exposure to 1.1 billion
gallons of toxic coal ash released when the containment pond failed at the TVA`s
Kingston Fossil Plant (Kingston Steam Plant). The Giltnane family includes
Robert and Mary Giltnane, their son Levi and his wife Brandy, and Levi`s and
Brandy`s two-year old daughter Skylar. The Giltnanes are residents of the area
near the Kingston Steam Plant, property owners, and owner/operators of a family
business, Sailaway Homes and Land Realty, based in Kingston, Tennessee. The
Cullens live on the Clinch River.

"Our primary concern is the health impact of this massive release of toxic
materials into our community," said Levi Giltnane. "We have a two year old
daughter, Skylar. For her and for the other children in this area, we want the
TVA to give us honest answers about what is in this toxic ash and we want the
TVA to fund medical testing for our family and other families who have been
exposed to the massive amounts of toxic materials the TVA has dumped in our
community."

"This has been a devastating event for our family and for our family business,"
state Robert Giltnane. "My family, as residents and realtors, and our neighbors
have already suffered harm and will unquestionably continue to be harmed by the
TVA`s toxic coal ash."

"This disaster has negatively impacted the residential community and fouled the
scenic waterways in the Kingston area, which are a central part of life in the
area," stated Elizabeth Alexander, a Morristown, Tennessee native and partner in
the Nashville, Tennessee office of the national plaintiffs` law firm Lieff
Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, which is representing the Giltnanes and
represented families affected by a similar coal ash release in Kentucky in 2001.
"I grew up in East Tennessee and my family still lives nearby. I have a child
the same age as the Giltnane`s daughter, and I understand their concerns for her
health. The TVA should be held to account for all of the harm it has caused
through its bad decisions and obvious mismanagement of massive amounts of toxic
materials."

"At a time when many East Tennessee families are struggling to keep their jobs
and homes, the last thing they needed was a massive release of toxic materials
in their community," stated attorney Mark Chalos, also a partner in Lieff
Cabraser`s Nashville office. "Instead of paying millions of dollars in bonuses
for its executives, the TVA needs to dedicate its resources to safeguarding the
well being of our communities and promptly accepting full legal and financial
responsibility for the Kingston environmental disaster."

The Giltnanes ask that the Court require the TVA to fund medical testing and
monitoring for their family and other families exposed to the toxic coal ash,
and any medical treatments and procedures determined necessary as a result of
their exposure. The lawsuit also seeks an order from the Court mandating that
the TVA fund environmental monitoring in residential communities and waterways
affected by the release. The waterways serve as drinking water sources for many
Tennessee families. Finally, the complaint requests monetary compensation for
the Giltnanes and other families, for the costs of environmental remediation,
damage to property, loss of property value, and loss of income by local
businesses affected by the massive release.

The lawsuit alleges that the TVA had knowledge that its coal ash sludge
containment pond was in danger of releasing massive amounts of toxic substances
into the community, and failed to take reasonable steps that would have
prevented the December 22, 2008, environmental disaster.

The coal ash sludge pond reportedly contained over 20 years` worth of toxic ash
produced by the TVA`s coal burning facility. Just one year of the coal ash
reportedly included 45,000 pounds of arsenic, 49,000 pounds of lead, 1.4 million
pounds of barium, 91,000 pounds of chromium and 140,000 pounds of manganese.
Those metals can cause cancer, liver damage and neurological complications,
among other health problems. Environmental testing reportedly found arsenic
levels in the water near the TVA facility to be 149 times higher than the
federal limit for safe drinking water. The same testing registered lead levels
five times higher than normal, as well as unsafe levels of antimony, beryllium,
cadmium and chromium, and elevated levels of a dozen other chemicals.

The lawsuit alleges that the sludge pond failed on several prior occasions. The
lawsuit further alleges that the TVA reportedly considered and rejected "global
fixes" that might have prevented this massive release and instead the TVA chose
to implement cheaper "band-aid" measures that failed to prevent the catastrophic
failure and the release of more than 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash into
the residential community.

The case, entitled Robert Giltnane, et al, v. Tennessee Valley Authority, was
filed in federal district court in Knoxville, Tennessee late on the afternoon of
Friday, January 9, 2009. Reporters may obtain copies of the complaint by
contacting the Nashville office of Lieff Cabraser at (615) 313-9000 or email
mchalos@lchb.com or ealexander@lchb.com.

About Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a fifty-plus attorney law firm that
has represented plaintiffs nationwide since 1972. With offices in Nashville, San
Francisco, and New York, the firm represents plaintiffs in individual lawsuits
in cases involving substantial losses and in class and group actions. For the
last six years, the National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of
the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation.

Learn more about Lieff Cabraser and the TVA coal ash at
http://www.lieffcabraser.com/environmental/coal-ash.htm

Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Nashville
Elizabeth Alexander, Esquire
Mark Chalos, Esquire
615-313-9000

Copyright Business Wire 2009