Florida has 24 such phosphogypsum stacks, most of them concentrated in mining areas in the central part of the state. About 30 million tons of this slightly radioactive waste is generated every year, according to the Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute.
FILE - An aerial view of the partially drained New Gypsum Stack South wastewater reservoir at Piney Point in Palmetto, Florida, on May 4, 2021. resulted in the release of an estimated 215 million gallons of polluted water into Tampa Bay, causing massive fish kills. State officials, overseen by a court-appointed receiver, are working with a $100 million appropriation to shut down that long-troubled location.
"The imminent and substantial endangerment to the environment and human health and safety posed by Piney Point has not been abated" since a judge ordered a six-month stay in the case.Experts fear the water could feed algae blooms that will choke out fish and could even be harmful to humans. Craig Patrick explains what we've seen elsewhere in Florida.
"Valuable aquatic and vegetative resources never fully recover from a spill," Tatum wrote on the organization’s website. "As the highly acidic, radioactive slime makes its way to the receiving waters, entire aquatic ecosystems are impacted."Phosphate has been mined in Florida since 1883. It’s used mainly for fertilizer to produce food, animal supplements and a variety of industrial products.