Lenoir County highway reopen after Carbon Dioxide leak

Highway 11 in Lenoir County from Cunningham Road to Ferrell Road is reopen Tuesday morning following a Carbon Dioxide leak.

Authorities say it happened at NuCO2, which is a facility that carbonates beverages.

The hazmat team out of Williamston arrived on scene and had the situation under control within an hour.

A one inch thick line was leaking CO2 and the amount of CO2 supply went down from 16,000 pounds to 1,000 pounds inside the tank.

CO2 can be dangerous if the vapor cloud is thick enough to overpower the amount of oxygen in the air. Anyone inside a cloud that thick could suffocate.

Firefighters on scene say the cloud is no longer that thick and there is little danger to the public at this time.

The road reopened shortly before 11:00 p.m. Monday.