Coast Watch: Florence Fallout Continues

Even as Florence flood waters recede in the hardest-hit parts of North Carolina, awareness of the dangers from polluted waters continues to rise.

On Friday, the Waterkeeper Alliance announced that sampling of the Neuse River near Duke Energy’s retired coal power plant outside Goldsboro found arsenic levels 18 times higher than safe levels.

Some of the samples came from a visible gray plume of ash which had poured from an eroding coal ash pit. Samples also showed elevated levels of lead and other dangerous pollutants. The sample area was a few miles upstream of Goldsboro’s drinking water intake. Neuse Riverkeeper Matthew Starr said, “The levels of arsenic that Duke has dumped into the Neuse through its continued mismanagement of its coal ash are alarming, and every time that Duke misleads the public about the true impact of its coal ash, they put our environment and communities at risk.”

Earlier, reports had coal ash flowing “like pudding” into the Neuse from the old Duke site. As a result, the leading question continues to be: When will policymakers understand that they must act to require real cleanup of these antiquated, dangerous facilities?

Up next, Legislators back in Raleigh >>

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