Satellite images of Washington state landslide; seafood concerns in Texas oil spill and other top environmental news Wednesday

This satellite photo shows the scar left by a March 22 rainfall-triggered landslide, and the dangerous lake formed by the slide, near Oso, Washington. (NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey)

Satellite images of a rain-triggered landslide in Washington state that is believed to have killed at least 24 people, concerns about the effects of a Houston oil spill on seafood, and a report on a toxic coal-cleaning chemical still being found in Charleston, W. Va., drinking water top Wednesday's environmental news.

Landslide and dangerous new lake visible from space

NASA’s Earth Observatory web site has posted before and after images of the landslide that hit an area near Oso, Wash., last week, and the barrier lake that was formed by the slide. The web page includes a combined image that allows easier viewing of the before and after conditions.

The Seattle Times has been following the story, using its own graphics and photos to outline the slide’s effects. Times staffer Brian Rosenthal reports that the death toll had reached 24 by Tuesday evening, with more bodies expected to be found in the days and weeks to come.

Scientists, environmentalists worried about Texas spill's effects on fish

Scientists with Texas universities and environmental groups are warning that the 168,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the Houston Ship Channel on Saturday (March 22) may have long term effects on fisheries, according to an article by Neena Satija with the Texas Tribune. 

The scientists and environmentalists warn that the brown shrimp spawning season is under way, and shrimp larvae may encounter oil as they move towards sheltering wetlands along Galveston Bay and the adjacent shoreline. The spill took place after the collision of a 585-foot bulk carrier with an oil barge. 

Coal-cleaning chemical still found in Charleston, W. Va., drinking water

Ken Ward with the Charleston, W. Va., Gazette reports that trace amounts of the chemical MCHM are still being found in water distributed from West Virginia American Water’s Elk River treatment plant.

The chemical is the same that was released in a Jan. 9 leak at Freedom Industries, a company that stored it. The chemical is a foaming material used to wash coal and remove impurities that contribute to pollution when the coal is burned.

As many as 300,000 residents in nine counties in the Charleston area were without access to drinkable water for several days after the original spill, which occurred just upriver from the water system's intake.