Radioactive fertilizer waste spills into Tampa Bay

By Ellie Borst | 10/15/2024 01:54 PM EDT

At least 17,500 gallons of phosphorous wastewater was spilled, but the company said, “We expect water quality impacts, if any, to be modest.”

The city of Tampa's downtown skyline is seen across the bay on July 12, 2012, in Florida.

Tampa's downtown skyline as seen on July 12, 2012, in Florida. A spill from radioactive fertilizer waste piles into Tampa Bay was reported in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Florida’s largest phosphorus producer reported “no significant environmental impacts” despite a spill from a radioactive fertilizer waste pile, offering a first glimpse of the toxic threats left by Hurricane Milton.

At least 17,500 gallons of wastewater spilled into Tampa Bay from one of Mosaic’s 16 facilities housing phosphogypsum, a byproduct from processing phosphate to make fertilizer containing mildly radioactive chemicals, the company said in a statement.

“We expect water quality impacts, if any, to be modest,” Mosaic said Friday, adding in an operational update Monday that “no significant environmental impacts occurred due to the storms.”

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But “so much is still unknown,” said Ragan Whitlock, a staff attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity in St. Petersburg.

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