Florida Dam May Leak Radioactive Wastewater

Misbar discovered that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency as Manatee County officials evacuated residents near a phosphate processing plant over the weekend. Officials warned that a pond filled with toxic wastewater could collapse “at any time” according to the Epoch Times. 

While the breach of the dam may be imminent due to a leak that cannot be controlled, whether the water is considered radioactive is still in question. According to the State of Florida website, protectingfloridatogether.gov: “The water being discharged from the NGS-South containment area at Piney Point is mixed sea water (primarily saltwater from the Port Manatee dredge project, mixed with legacy process water and stormwater runoff/rainfall). It has been tested, and it is not radioactive.”

However, according to Rachel Curran, an attorney working with People for Protecting Peace River, the water in the pond does have the potential for radioactivity. The main concern at Piney Point is the amount of phosphogypsum, which is “radioactive waste” in the pond from processing phosphate into a state that can be used for commercial fertilizer. This waste was at one time pumped into the pond as a slurry, where the solids settled in the pond and then stormwater and dredged material were then pumped on top. “If the dam is breached, and especially if water moves from the side or bottom of the dam, there is the potential for the water to be radioactive,” according to Curran. 

The wastewater ponds potentially could contain radioactive waste. More transparent water quality monitoring over the several days will be more conclusive.