The radioactive waste contained phosphogypsum – a slightly radioactive by-product of fertiliser production.
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The company said it was monitoring groundwater and there was no risk to the public as the leak had not reached private water supplies.
Mosaic said the monitoring system at its New Wales facility at Mulberry, Florida, showed a decline in water levels on August 27 from the retention pond of a phosphogypsum stack, a hill of hazardous waste.
The company said it’s working to recover the water.
And the sinkhole seems to be draining into an aquifer that provides drinking water to millions of people.
The vast aquifer underlies all of Florida, and also extends into southern Alabama, Georgia, and SC. It has been contaminated by the gypsum, which is a byproduct of the fertilizer they make.
“When the water loss was detected, we began pumping water out of the west cell and into an alternative holding area on site to reduce the amount of drainage”, the company says.
Mosaic activated a nearby recovery well. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) “confirmed that Mosaic immediately took steps to investigate and initiate corrective action”, according to FDEP Deputy Press Secretary Dee Ann Miller. “We noticed a strong like rotten egg smell”, he said. The hole is 45 feet wide, and officials said they don’t know how deep.
Picketers in Polk County, protesting tens of millions of gallons of radioactive water pouring into the Floridan Aquifer.
Gypsum comes out of the plant after Mosaic produces phosphate fertilizers and animal feed ingredients.
Despite the incident, Mosaic Fertilizer has reassured its customers that plant operation is continuing as normal.
EPA found that Mosaic improperly handled its facilities, which posed a threat to the environment and human health.
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“We want independent companies who are not financially tied to mosaic to test”, said Broadbent.
