Polluted waste from Florida's fertilizer industry is in the path of Milton's fury

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Environment,Climate,Business

As Hurricane Milton bears down on Florida’s west coast with powerful winds and flooding rain, environmentalists are worried it could scatter the polluted leftovers of the state’s phosphate fertilizer mining industry and other hazardous waste across the peninsula and into vulnerable waterways.

‘Total loss’: Northeast Side home destroyed, neighbor’s house damaged after fire, SAFD saysBlood donations for Florida needed ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall3 hours agoTake a look at some of the discounts on items that will be super helpful around the house and with your beauty routine.

Phosphogypsum, a solid waste byproduct from processing phosphate ore to make chemical fertilizer, contains radium, which decays to form radon gas.

Of particular concern from Milton is the Piney Point wastewater reservoir, which sits on the shore of Tampa Bay and has had structural issues that have caused regular leaks over the years.resulted in the release of an estimated 215 million gallons of polluted water into the bay and caused massive fish kills. Another leak in August 2022 unleashed another 4.5 million gallons of wastewater.

Florida and North Carolina are responsible for mining 80% of the U.S. supply of phosphorous, which is important not only to agriculture but to munitions production.that are considered among the worst in the nation. A former pesticide production site, the Stauffer Chemical Co., has polluted the Anclote River, groundwater and soil. Today it is an EPA Superfund site undergoing years of cleanup.

 

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