Tennessee Coal Ash Spill, as Seen from Space

NASA's Earth Observatory published photos this afternoon of the coal ash spill from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston Fossil coal-fired power plant. The photos, which use false color to depict conditions on the ground, demonstrate the extent of pollution. That it's clearly visible from high altitude is only the first indication.

Here's how NASA describes the photos:

In the early morning hours of December 22, 2008, the earthen wall of a containment pond at Tennessee’s Kingston Fossil Plant gave way. The breach released 1.3 million cubic meters (1.7 cubic yards) of fly ash—a coal-combustion waste product captured and stored in wet form. As fly ash dries, it is typically moved to new containment areas to continue drying, and it was one of these areas, housing dredge cells that facilitate further drying, where the containment wall broke. Some of the sludge traveled north through a valley, and some flowed to the east, where it damaged dozens of homes. The spill infiltrated the Emory River, buried some 300 acres in sludge, and even knocked a nearby home completely off its foundation.

The Thematic Mapper on NASA’s Landsat 5 satellite captured these images of the Kingston Fossil Plant and its surroundings on November 20, 2008, a month before the spill (top); and December 22, 2008, immediately after the spill, (bottom). In these false-color images, water appears blue, and sediment-laden water appears light blue. Vegetation appears green, and bare ground and urbanized areas appear pinkish-brown.

In the November image, walls visibly contain two adjacent slurry ponds at the plant—one in the northwest and one in the southeast—but in the December image, the walls of the northwestern slurry pond have given way. In this image, light blue slurry covers the ground to the north and east of the plant. Sediment also clogs the nearby Emory River, evident from the waterway’s relatively light blue color.

TVA Kingston Coal Ash Spill - Before

Water appears blue, and sediment-laden water appears light blue. Vegetation appears green, and bare ground and urbanized areas appear pinkish-brown.

NASA Earth Observatory

TVA Kingston Coal Ash Spill - After

Water appears blue, and sediment-laden water appears light blue. Vegetation appears green, and bare ground and urbanized areas appear pinkish-brown.

NASA Earth Observatory

This video gives another view on the extent of pollution:

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