Satellite Image Shows Tennessee's Kingston Fossil Plant And Its Surrounding Areas
Date: 06-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Nasa Handout
Photo: Reuters
This satellite image created by the Thematic Mapper on NASA's Landsat 5 satellite, released on January 5, 2009, shows the area of Tennessee's Kingston Fossil Plant and its surroundings on December 22, 2008, immediately after the spill.
In this false-color image, water appears blue, and sediment-laden water appears light blue.
Vegetation appears green, and bare ground and urbanized areas appear pinkish-brown. In the early morning hours of December 22, 2008, the earthen wall of a containment pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant gave way.
The breach released 1.3 million cubic meters (1.7 million cubic yards) of fly ash, a coal-combustion waste product captured and stored in wet form.
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 120 hectares (300 acres) in sludge, and even knocked a nearby home completely off its foundation.
