page_title: Ash pond
hierarchical_section_title: Ash pond
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial view of the William H. Zimmer Power Station on the Ohio River in 2017. Cropped photo and color corrected from original.
context_page_description: An ash pond, also called a coal ash basin or surface impoundment, is an engineered structure used at fossil fuel power stations for the disposal of two types of coal combustion products: bottom ash and fly ash. The pond is used as a landfill to prevent the release of ash into the atmosphere. Although the use of ash ponds in combination with air pollution controls decreases the amount of airborne pollutants, the structures pose serious health risks for the surrounding environment.
  Ash ponds use gravity to settle out large particulates from power plant wastewater. This technology does not treat dissolved pollutants. The ponds generally have not been built as lined landfills, and therefore chemicals in the ash can leach into groundwater and surface waters, accumulating in the biomass of the system.
  In the United States, federal design standards for ash ponds were strengthened in 2015, although various provisions of the new regulations are on hold as of 2020, pending ongoing litigation.
context_section_description: An ash pond, also called a coal ash basin or surface impoundment,, is an engineered structure used at fossil fuel power stations for the disposal of two types of coal combustion products: bottom ash and fly ash. The pond is used as a landfill to prevent the release of ash into the atmosphere. Although the use of ash ponds in combination with air pollution controls (such as wet scrubbers) decreases the amount of airborne pollutants, the structures pose serious health risks for the surrounding environment.
  Ash ponds use gravity to settle out large particulates (measured as total suspended solids) from power plant wastewater. This technology does not treat dissolved pollutants. The ponds generally have not been built as lined landfills, and therefore chemicals in the ash can leach into groundwater and surface waters, accumulating in the biomass of the system.
  In the United States, federal design standards for ash ponds were strengthened in 2015, although various provisions of the new regulations are on hold as of 2020, pending ongoing litigation.
caption: A coal-fired power plant with surface impoundments
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