Polluted Leftovers From Fertiliser Industry In Path Of Milton's Fury

Washington: As Hurricane Milton pummelled Florida's west coast with powerful winds and flooding rain, environmentalists worry 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. More than 1 billion tons of slightly radioactive phosphogypsum waste is stored in “stacks” that resemble enormous ponds at risk for leaks during major storms. Florida has 25 such stacks, most concentrated around enormous phosphate mines and fertiliser processing plants in the central part of the State, and environmentalists say nearly all of them are in Milton's projected path. Both radium and radon are radioactive and can cause cancer. Phosphogypsum may also contain toxic heavy metals and other carcinogens, such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and nickel.