Isn’t there a green solution for phosphate strip mining?

Most of the people in the United States are unaware of open pit mining in the Peace River Valley in central Florida. Families living in central Florida as a whole are unaware of the devastation of the phosphate mining industry in the surrounding counties. Most people are unaware of the severe environmental impacts caused by open pit mining for, in this case, PR. Phosphate rock is removed from the earth’s surface up to about one hundred feet. Huge machines called draglines raze the land. Draglines remove dirt in particular patterns for greater efficiency. The dragline completely removes the landscape, including streams, rivers, watersheds, water tables, aquifers, and springs. The dragline is relentless in destroying all life in mined pits for the valuable phosphate rock it seeks.

Proponents of phosphate mining use land reclamation (1) as a catch phrase, while opponents of phosphate mining use irreparable damage to the ecological landscape as their catch phrase. Who chooses to believe that he is being blunt about the recovery of the severely disturbed landscape with phosphate depletion? Locally, pro-phosphate industry marketers boast that reclamation of severely disturbed lands after mining is a complete success. However, the same abandoned mine shafts that he frequented near Brandon, FL as a young man in the early 1970s have yet to see any recovery. Florida citizens do not have the resources to raise awareness with advertisements illustrating the irreversible environmental damage of the phosphate industry.

Let me be clear; one should note that both sides of this “difference of opinion” are not playing at the same “level”. By “level”, I mean political influence based on the economic benefit of the two opposing sides. For example, the Florida phosphate industry donates hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to both Republican and Democratic interest political parties. In contrast, the citizens of Central Florida cannot afford to compete with dollars spent (donated) for politically motivated interests.

Interestingly, the Florida phosphate industry owns enough land in Florida to cover the state of Rhode Island. That is, the phosphate industry has hundreds of square miles of sensitive ecosystem areas, all obtained through political interest for financial gain. Florida statutes, landscapes reclaimed by the state must serve the original purpose; that of being part of a complete ecosystem restored to pre-mining conditions. The industry claims that reclaimed land re-integrates with the surrounding natural landscape and restores original drainage patterns to pre-mining conditions.

Florida statutes require the phosphate industry to return mined lands to “beneficial use.” Beneficial use is defined as: maximizing social, economic and ecological benefits, providing sustainable quality of life and jobs for local communities, and maximizing environmental protection. By definition, Central Florida’s mined landscape is not restored to “beneficial use” status, say opponents of Florida’s phosphate industry. As phosphate mining advocates say, Florida phosphate industry officials and politicians portray their reclamation projects as restoring the landscape to “beneficial use.”

Unfortunately, the Florida phosphate industry and politicians are not telling the whole truth about reclaiming mined land. The definition of “beneficial use” that is used empirically today is adapted to supporters of the phosphate industry. The reclaimed mined lands are being sold for residential use and are now being populated. These residential neighborhoods built on reclaimed mined land in Lakeland, FL show adverse impacts on human health. People are reportedly getting sick from living on reclaimed mine land with radio emissions higher than accepted, which is five to seven picocuries, according to EPA reports.

The public is not informed about the impossibility of restoring the landscape to its original state. Each of the reclaimed mined lands that have been observed over time reportedly shows reclaimed mining landscapes that the compacted soil mix does not function as efficiently as the original soils. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that compacted soils in reclaimed mined lands do not allow water penetration, which is essential in central Florida. Compacted soils decrease water mobility (2), reduce root penetration of flora, and increase runoff, all of which are detrimental to new landscape growth from mined land. Compacted soils also prevent earthworms, insects, and small animals from aerating the soil because the soil is too compacted to burrow or form nests for worms and insects.

It is now known that reclaimed soils from the Florida phosphate industry have higher than normal radioactive elements that are absorbed by food crops growing on reclaimed mined soils. Interestingly, the Florida Phosphate Research Institute (FIPR) states that radioactivity in agricultural uptake is high, but not enough to cause concern. Many pollutants, including radioactive elements such as radium 226, can be absorbed by crops and enter the food chain. The FIPR concluded that radioactive concentrations increase in crops and livestock when grown on land reclaimed from phosphate mines.

Concerned citizens should reach out to their elected officials and let them know that the practices of the Florida phosphate industry are unacceptable because human lives and well-being are at stake.

Reference

1. Paradise really lost | The Economist. Economist com

2. Potential Environmental Effects of Mining, ncbi.nlm.nih gov