Storm Floods Breached Coal-Ash Pit, Isolated Duke Nuclear Plant
- U.S. declares minor emergency as atomic plant access is cut
- Wilmington in distress; tobacco, hog-farm operations at risk
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Duke Energy Corp. grappled with deadly Hurricane Florence’s aftereffects as a breach in a coal-ash landfill worsened and its Brunswick nuclear plant declared a low-level emergency because of flooding.
While the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission declared an “unusual event” this weekend at the atomic plant on North Carolina’s soaked southern coast due to “site access issues,” it said there were no safety concerns. Roads around the plant were largely impassable and that supplies were being flown in to stranded workers, according to an engineer.