By Mark Niquette and Christopher Flavelle
A Duke Energy Corp. landfill near Wilmington, North Carolina, failed (click here) under the assault of Tropical Depression Florence, spilling about 2,000 cubic yards of coal ash that can carry toxic mercury, arsenic and lead. Authorities said they would investigate whether the pollutant had reached the Cape Fear River, but said it wasn’t yet safe to inspect the site.
As the weakening storm plodded agonizingly across the Carolinas on Sunday, officials warned of even more catastrophic flooding. The deluge has already killed at least 13 people, washed partially treated sewage into waterways and left entire communities under water....
Besides the coal ash, there are problems with Gen-X in the water supply of Wilmington. What next? Who is testing the water quality for ALL the people in North Carolina touched by Florence? That entire state has pollution issues and the water quality for every North Carolinian has to be free of toxins of all kind. There are fracking issues as well. What happens to the methane turned loose by Florence and what happens if that methane has become aqueous and is part of the water supply now?
There are lots and lots of problems in North and South Carolina because the investment to infrastructure and avoiding pollution problems are weakly addressed, if at all.
