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Erroneous warning sounded near Nebraska nuke plant

NEMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An erroneous evacuation warning about a hazardous material spill has sounded in a village of 150 people that sits a couple of miles from a nuclear power plant in southeast Nebraska.

The vocal warning went out once or twice over a siren speaker in Nemaha while a technician from Cooper Nuclear Station worked on the siren Thursday.

Nebraska Public Power District owns the plant, and district spokesman Mark Becker said Friday that the technician accidentally played a recorded message that had been loaded by the manufacturer but is not part of the plant's procedure.

The plant's warning system triggers sirens within 10 miles of the plant for three minutes, alerting people to seek more information from television or radio.

Becker says federal regulators will be notified about the error.

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