Mining Phosphorus - Florida Phosphate Film

Phosphorus, the most critical element in modern agriculture, has been acquired through phosphate strip mining in Florida for over a century, but Florida’s phosphate is quickly running out. When it is gone, the United States will be dependent on phosphate imports.

A new source of phosphate is discovered in North Florida. Local land owners are determined to mine it, but environmentalists vow to stop them before they can begin. The environmentalists point to Polk County, where strip mining for phosphate has polluted water and air for decades.

A county permit is all that stands in the way of the mining. The fight between mineral security and a healthy environment embroils two rural counties in North Florida, where the future of phosphate mining will be determined by a few public servants.

This documentary film was a 2018 Student Academy Award Finalist. It screened at numerous film festivals including the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.

Contents:
00:00 - Introduction to phosphate
01:05 - Title
01:15 - Proposed phosphate mine in Bradford County, Florida
03:25 - What is phosphate?
04:55 - Neighbors oppose phosphate mine
06:50 - Previous environmental damage caused by phosphate mining
08:10 - Polk County
09:30 - Phosphate mining seen from above
10:55 - Mosaic sinkhole spill
12:07 - Mosaic neighbors believe their well water is contaminated
13:20 - Mine advocates defend their environmental record
13:45 - Mine opponents strategize
14:28 - County commissioners take tentative steps toward mine approval
15:30 - Mine opponents believe some commissioners want the mine for potential jobs
16:25 - Mine proponent won't give up property rights
17:00 - County commissioners will have to weigh individual rights against concerns of community
17:18 - Credits

Written and Produced by Alan Toth and Laura Newberry

Directed and Edited by Alan Toth

Videography by Alan Toth, Laura Newberry and Craig Hickerson

Creative Advisors - Spencer Nakasako and Mike Shen

Technical Advisor - Chris O'Dea

Color by Gary Coates

Additional Video provided by Cheng Liu, David Wilcox and John S. Quarterman

Drone Photography provided by Klara Fletcher

Music by Terry Devine-King, Dan Skinner, Adam Skinner, Randall Breneman, Jeremy Sherman and Socorra Camposanto

Post Production Audio by Berkeley Sound Artists

Re-Recording Mixer and Sound Designer - Bijan Sharifi

Dialog Editor - Eric Reimers

Sound Effects Editor - William Sammons

Archival Footage provided by Conus Archive, Ivan Veselinovic, Anna Medvedeva, Santa Korts, The State Archives of Florida and Jehuda Photo

Featuring - Jack Hazen, Courtney Snyder, Jim Tatum, Kristy Simpson, Marc Kubinec, Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, Andy Mele and Ed Golly

Special Thanks - Canon USA, Blackmagic Design, Chris O'Dea, Jon Else, Orlando Bagwell and The Doc Crew 2018

Funding provided by The Fine Cut Fund at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism by Minette Nelson and David Eckles of the Filmmaker Fund

Additional Funding provided by The Berkeley Journalism Working Draft Fund

©Alan Toth 2018

[bigbuilder]

Uranium (and its associated decay series) is the naturally occurring radioactive element and predominantly makes up the bulk of the radioactivity associated with phosphate mining in Florida. Uranium is a solid where radon is a gas and is produced from uranium decaying. Uranium is ‘highly’ concentrated but not naturally (from a geologic perspective) occurring in Florida’s limestones. This is because of how it got here. Florida exists because it’s the cemetery for what was once one giant coral reef when sea levels were once far higher than today. As the ocean receded during the last ice age, the reef died and lakes of salt water were left behind that dried up. As the coral was growing, uranium was trapped in it and then you have areas with even higher concentrations of uranium where those ancient lakes dried up. The salt washed away since it’s soluble where uranium is only weakly soluble and so largely remains behind. This is why concrete from Florida is some of the most radioactive in the country baring areas out west like the Grand Canyon region with large geologic deposits of uranium. The decay of uranium is relatively harmless thanks to it being an alpha emitter and sequestered in concrete or rocks. Radon is the first element in uraniums decay scheme that is of radiological concern and makes up up the bulk of the concern thanks to its half life of nearly three days. Radon gas is a problem throughout the US. Especially in areas with basements because it’s heavier than air. Radon naturally bubbles up from below ground but will concentrate in low areas like basements or caves. This is why people require constant ventilation in their basements to suck it out. Radon is a concern because of the photons it emits during its decay and because it’s a gas that can be inhaled. Meaning the photons have a good chance of attenuating in your lungs which may lead to lung cancers, among others.

That being said, it takes a very long time of exposure to radon in most areas of the country to be worried about cancer and even then, simple mitigation techniques like opening windows or having a vent on will solve the problem. As for the case of phosphate mines concreting uranium in their waste pits, I don’t know enough about wind patterns and distribution of radon to know if it’s a concern to live immediately around them. That being said, I can be fairly confident in saying you’re fine to live by the quarries themselves from a radiological standpoint.

As for why you can’t bury the waste and solve the uranium problem. It’s because of how the laws are set up in the US. You’ve taken naturally occurring radioactive elements and concentrated them to higher than normal levels by removing the phosphate from the volume of material. The way the laws are written, even though you’ve done nothing to make the uranium ‘more radioactive’ you can’t dispose of it because a process has been done to it. That’s at least how it is for civilians. If you could spread the waste back out over all the area it was minded form, you decrease the concentration to original levels but this isn’t allowed. At no point did the amount of uranium change. It’s just the volumes of space it occupies that has. Interestingly enough, the military has its own rules for radioactive material and do dilute material with non-radioactive material to make it safe for burial. The saying you’ll regularly here from former military personal who worked with radiological materials is, “dilution is the solution to pollution”. Which is true. You can’t dispose of item X because it’s radioactivity is above 10 generic units, but if I take item X and grind it up and then mix it with a bag of sand, now it’s only at 5 generic units because I double it’s volume and is below 10 generic units. Still the same amount of radioactive stuff, just spread over more volume. This is a gross oversimplification because you have to account for what the isotopes are to know how they can be disposed of and the geometry of everything but you get the point.

[alantoth]

Update: HPS II Enterprises is suing Union County over their mining moratorium claiming that such regulation is so restrictive that it amounts to "reverse condemnation". The 5th Amendment to the US Constitution states that private property cannot be taken without appropriate compensation. HPS II claims that the mining moratorium is so restrictive that the county has essentially taken it for public use.

[bobleclair]

I remember my parents moving to Florida in 1969 . I came with them and the family and went to look for work, I was 19 at the time, the union hall sent me to a place where they mined phosphate, I remember one of the older workers telling me not to breathe and shut the window of the truck when I seen a cloud roll by, I didn’t think much about it until I got home. My tee shirt had little holes in it, between that and the hot weather, which I wasn’t use to, I packed my motorcycle and headed back to New Hampshire, as I recall, it was called the Bonny Mines

[johndoe]

Mines are not just put somewhere. You have to mine where the minerals are. If there are problems it needs addressed

[jBKht]

The permit should require the mine owners to buy out any houses that want to sell within the boundary of the aquafer. Or, houses within a half mile of the edge of the mine and put up a bond to install a water system including water filtration and treatment plant and piping to every house and business on a contaminated water supply.

[soarinskies]

Phosphate mining like most types of mining can be done safely, however companies who do mine phosphate like Mosaic definitely need to be more responsible and safe when it comes to water drainage and and water protection

[relentless]

yeah, and if it’s such a good thing, then why do all the property values around this proposed mine drop significantly and they aren’t worth shit anymore it’s because everyone knows the horrible irreparable damage that these phosphorus minds create for no real reason and the pollution last forever ‼️🤦🏼‍♂️

[relentless]

we literally don’t need phosphorus 🤦🏼‍♂️‼️ selfish thinking people who think that land should only be “used” for profit and production. Such a short term attitude is what is put us into this climate change situation…. fertilizer we don’t need and shouldn’t use and bombs we should never make.
I think there’s some areas around Tampa and south of Tampa, where we have been holding the toxic fluids and water from past minds in these massive holding ponds that just sit there waiting like time bombs to flood a community or Leche into the water table … I think one of them actually breached itself, and they had to end up dumping it into Tampa Bay 🤦🏼‍♂️‼️
like the dude literally says it’s limited which of course we know so I guess let’s just mine it until there’s nothing left and then where will we be 💁🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️⁉️stupid selfish capitalist ‼️🤦🏼‍♂️

[relentless]

we literally don’t need phosphorus 🤦🏼‍♂️‼️ selfish thinking people who think that land should only be “used” for profit and production. Such a short term attitude is what is put us into this climate change situation…. fertilizer we don’t need and shouldn’t use and bombs we should never make.
I think there’s some areas around Tampa and south of Tampa, where we have been holding the toxic fluids and water from past minds in these massive holding ponds that just sit there waiting like time bombs to flood a community or Leche into the water table … I think one of them actually breached itself, and they had to end up dumping it into Tampa Bay 🤦🏼‍♂️‼️

[relentless]

we literally don’t need phosphorus 🤦🏼‍♂️‼️ selfish thinking people who think that land should only be “used” for profit and production. Such a short term attitude is what is put us into this climate change situation…. fertilizer we don’t need and shouldn’t use and bombs we should never make.

[relentless]

we literally don’t need phosphorus 🤦🏼‍♂️‼️ selfish thinking people who think that land should only be “used” for profit and production. Such a short term attitude is what is put us into this climate change situation….

[relentless]

short term greed for a few people causing long-term or forever irreparable damage to their own land and environment much less the effect on millions of people around them … wtf 🤦🏼‍♂️‼️ and this for a chemical that is used to make phosphorus bombs that burn people alive worse than Napalm 💁🏼‍♂️

[markconner]

No disrespect but the Pritchetts are not rich enough yet? Lol

[markconner]

Old man, you want this greed to be your legacy?

[markconner]

Union Co residents..drive thru Hardee's and Manatee Cos to see what your gonna get

[markconner]

Mosaic doesn't give a shit about Fla. Those gypsum stacks will be there holding radioactive water till the end of time. Look at Piney Point

[WilliamGlenBatemanJr]

plenty of phosphates to recover from Florida's "Reclaim" water for yard use...
if you can, from the effluent, separate the thousands of metabolites of pharmaceuticals
and various rinsates from various industries.

[tannerstull]

Will say old man is just in his way out he’s dying he doesn’t care about future cause he ain’t gonna be there

[tannerstull]

Oh hey trash mountain! Biggest thing around here in Tampa

[tannerstull]

Born and raised Tampa FL here. Never heard of this stuff but if it’s a needed thing for life dig on. Sadly environments change and ppl move. Detroit used to be THE CITY and where is it today? Chicago same. Adapt or die out sadly. I’d prefer a wall on I75 stopping New England ppl moving south but no one crying about that