Florida: sinkhole causes contamination of underground water supply.

[Deleted]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016...water-to-leak/

A sinkhole has opened up at a fertilizer plant in the US, causing about 980 million litres of radioactive water to leak into one of Florida's main underground sources of drinking water.

The sinkhole, which is about 14 metres in diameter, collapsed beneath a pile of waste material called a “gypsum stack”.

Sitting on top of the stack was a storage pond containing phosphogypsum, which is a radioactive by-product resulting from the production of phosphate.

Mosaic, the world's largest supplier of phosphate, said the hole at its New Wales facility in the town of Mulberry was discovered by a worker on August 27.

It said the sinkhole is believed to reach down to the Floridan aquifer, which supplies drinking water to millions of residents in the state. Aquifers are huge underground systems of porous rocks that hold water.The company said it was monitoring groundwater and there was no risk to the public as the leak had not reached private water supplies. It is working to recover the water using pumps and the plant is still running.

"Groundwater moves very slowly," senior Mosaic official David Jellerson told Associated Press, adding that the pond with the sinkhole was “now dry”.

However, his reassurances failed to ease fears of contamination in the area.

"It's hard to trust them when they say 'Don't worry,' when they've been keeping it secret for three weeks," Jacki Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biological Diversity, told Reuters.

Mosaic said it immediately reported the incident to state and federal authorities.

Dee Ann Miller, spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, said the company was updating state and federal agencies on the situation.

“Along with reviewing daily reports, DEP is performing frequent site visits to make sure timely and appropriate response continues in order to safeguard public health and the environment,” Ms Miller told AP.

Rob Bentley, who lives in the area, said he was concerned by the leak.

"What did they say? Radioactivity possibly? Slightly? Yeah - I’m concerned," Mr Bentley told WTSP.

His neighbour, Deborah Thatcher, said they already had "multiple filters on our water".

"But I’ll just take more measures to be sure the kids are drinking bottled water for a while,” she said.

The aquifer is a major source of drinking water in the state. One of the highest producing aquifers in the world, it underlies all of Florida and extends into southern Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

Sounds terrifying. Is this as bad as it looks?

[Templar 331]

Sounds terrifying. Is this as bad as it looks?

radioactive water

Radioactive Florida man............yeah, it's bad.

[unfilteredJW]

Just another day here under good ol Rick Scott.

[Dextroden]

Huzzah! Now it's our turn to suffer (more) under a bunch of corrupt dick heads we can't vote out for some fucking reason.

[unfilteredJW]

Huzzah! Now it's our turn to suffer (more) under a bunch of corrupt dick heads we can't vote out for some fucking reason.

Old people.

[Rudkobing]

*cough*MolePeople*cough*

[Dextroden]

Old people.

They gotta die eventually.

[unfilteredJW]

They gotta die eventually.

They are on constant respawn.

[TrumpIsPresident]

The company said it was monitoring groundwater and there was no risk to the public as the leak had not reached private water supplies.

You've got to me f-u-c-k-i-n-g shitting me.

Please tell me these people aren't being allowed to self-administrate a fucking RADIOACTIVE LEAK!

Where is the damn EPA?

I'm in the Florida bay area right now and there's nothing on the news about this, unless its been buried in some report I missed.

Well ..fuck this ..I'm off to Walmart to buy a few hundred dollars worth of bottled water before the panic sets in.

[Deleted]

You've got to me f-u-c-k-i-n-g shitting me.

Please tell me these people aren't being allowed to self-administrate a fucking RADIOACTIVE LEAK!

Where is the damn EPA?

I'm in the Florida bay area right now and there's nothing on the news about this, unless its been buried in some report I missed.

Well ..fuck this ..I'm off to Walmart to buy a few hundred dollars worth of bottled water before the panic sets in.

That's what I found puzzling. You might want to do that, seriously.

Something different but with a similar outlook happened in the place I used to live. Lots of unexplainable cancer cases. One of the many reasons why I moved.
I don't know. Don't fuck up with water sources.

[Templar 331]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...50448710000089

Here's a paper on the radioactivity of a phosphogypsum pile in Spain. If I'm understanding it right, the stuff isn't that radioactive, but then again they weren't ingesting it.

[Cyberowl]

Something something environmental laws are a scam something something.

The fact that the state's agency is getting updated by the company is a joke; send your own man for Christs sake.

[breadisfunny]

well florida is sitting on very shallow ground.

[Afrospinach]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...50448710000089

Here's a paper on the radioactivity of a phosphogypsum pile in Spain. If I'm understanding it right, the stuff isn't that radioactive, but then again they weren't ingesting it.

Was just going to pose the question. Maybe that is why they are allowed to clean up their own mess as it is not really a health hazard.

[unfilteredJW]

I mean, it's just business as usual here in my grand old state.

If it's not toxic runoff from sugar farms, it's sinkholes or Scotty boy using public funds to pay for his lawsuits.

I like to be optimistic and go "Man, maybe this will be the wake up call.", but it never is.

[PACOX]

I mean, it's just business as usual here in my grand old state.

If it's not toxic runoff from sugar farms, it's sinkholes or Scotty boy using public funds to pay for his lawsuits.

I like to be optimistic and go "Man, maybe this will be the wake up call.", but it never is.

That sad truth. And people wonder why Florida is so "special". It's our water.

[Reeve]

The only way to know if it's as bad as it looks is to test the actual water supply output, not make assumptions based on the input. That 980 million liters might be so diluted by the time it gets to the actual water supply that it's a completely non-issue. But I have no idea, and won't until we see some actual testing.

[Mafic]

It is a health hazard.

And the Florida aquifer system is where most of the water is used as drinking water for human consumption for most of Florida and Nestle has a permit to bottle a portion of the water to sell under their Zephyrhills brand.

The Florida aquifer is a confined aquifer and it means it is the least treatment extensive source of water for humans.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Gotta feel bad for all the good people in Florida.

[Mafic]

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...50448710000089

Here's a paper on the radioactivity of a phosphogypsum pile in Spain. If I'm understanding it right, the stuff isn't that radioactive, but then again they weren't ingesting it.

It is radioactive enough to hurt human beings which is why if you were to go "swimming" into a gypsum stack you would be hospitalized within hours.