Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill in North Carolina

Duke Energy said that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of water were released from a pond at its retired power plant in Eden, North Carolina into the Dan River, and were still flowing. Duke said a 48-inch stormwater pipe beneath the unlined ash pond broke February 2, 2014. Water and ash from the 27-acre pond drained into the pipe.

Unique identifier: GP0STO7M5

Type: Video

Shoot date: 04/02/2014

Locations: North America, North Carolina, United States of America

Credit line: © Greenpeace

Duration: 8m48s

Audio format: Natural

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill in North Carolina

Documentation of coal leaking into the Dan River from Duke Energy's Dan River Steam Station in Eden, North Carolina, which was retired in 2012.
Duke said that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of water were released through a 48-inch storm water pipe under the 27 acre containment pond which continued to leak Monday, Feb. 4, 2014.
Coal ash is the waste left after burning. It contains arsenic, mercury, lead, and over a dozen other heavy metals, many of them toxic. The spill is six miles upriver from the water intake system for Danville, Virginia, a city with a population of around 43,000 people.
The pond has a liquid capacity of 155 million gallons when full, according to a recent inspection report, but was at a lower level because the Dan River power plant’s coal-fired units were retired in 2012.

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Duke Energy Coal Ash Spill in North Carolina

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