A Mosaic Co. phosphate fertilizer facility in Mulberry, Florida says that a 45-foot-wide sinkhole opened up and leaked out 215 million gallons of “slightly radioactive water.” Please, don’t undersell this. It’s also hard to take them at their word as it took them about three weeks before they alerted the public of this situation.
The nearly three-week gap between detecting the sinkhole and reporting it to the public is alarming, said Jacki Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biological Diversity.
"It’s hard to trust them when they say 'Don’t worry,' when they’ve been keeping it secret for three weeks," she said.
It’s very hard to trust Mosaic, who settled a $2 billion hazardous waste lawsuit last year, owing the government $800 million. This sinkhole leak is potentially very dangerous.
The sinkhole, located about 30 miles from Tampa, damaged the liner system at the base of the stack, causing the pond on top to drain. Seepage continued and the sinkhole reached Florida's aquifer, Mosaic said on its website.
Specific environmental and health concerns are the release of uranium, radium and radon gas, Lopez said. Once contaminants reach the aquifer, which extends from central Florida to Georgia, they can potentially travel hundreds of miles, she said.
Operations at the facility are reportedly unaffected by the breach. Officials at Mosaic say they are monitoring and sampling and trying to reduce the volume of leakage, while also attempting to recover the tainted water through production wells at the facility.