phosphate

Phosphogypsum, a byproduct in the fertilizer industry, contains uranium and radium — and as the EPA notes, it also forms radon, "a cancer-causing, radioactive gas."

Opponents said the byproduct could harm people working on roads and affect water in aquifers.

Here are the key developments at the troubled Piney Point phosphate plant, including a spill that prompted officials to pump more than 200 million gallons of the reservoir’s polluted water into Tampa Bay.

The perfect storm of events led to the creation of a never-before-seen, naturally-occurring mineral.

They warn that the contamination of Florida’s air, water and soil could increase the risk of cancer if the wins approval.

After decades of pollution suffocated Tampa Bay and killed half its seagrass and much of its marine life, unprecedented political cooperation and hundreds of science-guided projects brought the estuary back to life. Tampa Bay became a symbol for the success of the Clean Water Act of 1972, but seagrasses and fish have begun to die again.

The plan calls for the former phosphate plant to be permanently shut down by December 2024.

The plan would permanently close four gypsum stacks formerly used to store toxic wastewater from the production of fertilizer.

Defendants asked U.S. District Judge William Jung to dismiss the lawsuit, but several environmental agencies say the state and other defendants should be held liable.

He will hear arguments over whether a lawsuit should be tossed that alleges “malfeasance” after about 215 million gallons of wastewater were discharged from the site into Tampa Bay last year.

They say the leaks are producing about three gallons of water a minute, but are contained.

The go-ahead has been given to injecting polluted water from the troubled Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County deep under the drinking water aquifer.