What's Hidden In Florida's Radioactive Pyramids?

What the film says

1. About five tons of phosphogypsum are produced per ton of phosphoric acid.

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2. Florida has about a billion tons of phosphogypsum in stacks, with about 30 million tons added each year.

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3. Radium-226 has a half-life of about 1,600 years.

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4. EPA's 1989 rule estimated a maximum lifetime (70-year) cancer risk of about 9 in 100,000 from stack radon emissions.

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5. On Sept. 5, 2004, during Hurricane Frances, a 100-ft section of dike broke at Cargill's Riverview stack after 24 hours of wind and waves; DEP had issued a Sept. 2 consent order finding the site did not meet minimum design criteria.

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6. About 65 million gallons went into Archie Creek and Hillsborough Bay, killing thousands of fish and harming almost 80 acres of mangroves; Riverview is now Mosaic's.

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7. Hurricane Milton dropped nearly 15 inches of rain on Riverview; a water collection system was overwhelmed and water likely reached Tampa Bay; Mosaic said volume may have exceeded the 17,500-gallon reporting threshold; litigation alleges at least 39,600 gallons.

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8. In August 2016 a sinkhole under a 78-acre pond on the New Wales stack drained about 215 million gallons some 220 feet into the aquifer; the public wasn't told for 19 days; plugging it took $84 million and 20,000 cubic yards of grout.

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9. A red tide followed the release; HRK filed for bankruptcy.

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10. EPA banned most phosphogypsum uses in 1989, making stacking necessary; a 1992 rule allowed agricultural use below a radium limit.

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11. On Aug. 12, 2026, the 11th Circuit upheld EPA's approval of Mosaic's New Wales pilot road: four 500-ft test sections using about 1,200 tons of phosphogypsum.

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12. Mosaic wants to expand Riverview's East Stack by nearly 180 acres, about 35 acres of wetlands and waters, extending the plant's life about 16 years.

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13. Progress Village was founded for Black residents and is now home to at least 11,000 people; county commissioners approved the stack in 1984 despite opposition; lifelong resident Sean Bell Sr. calls it environmental racism.

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14. Strait of Hormuz disruption to sulfur supply led Mosaic to cut production in 2026, including at Riverview.

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15. Central Florida's Bone Valley contains extensive phosphate deposits.

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16. In 2021, water from the Piney Point site, owned by HRK Holdings, was pumped into Tampa Bay at 22,000 gallons a minute, and about 316 households were in the evacuation zone.

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17. Under the 1856 Guano Islands Act, the United States claimed Baker Island, Howland Island and Midway Atoll.

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