Mercury Pollution and Fertilizer Producing Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency requires 33 industrial facilities located in Florida to report the amount of mercury compounds disposed of or released from their plants annually. Mosaic Fertilizer LLC owns and operates the top three facilities for mercury compound disposals or releases in Florida for 2020, the number four facility is PCS Phosphate.

According to the most recent data available from the EPA Explorer Toxic Release Inventory, the Total on and off-site disposal or other releases for Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC operations in Florida is 11,404 pounds of mercury compounds for 2020.

Mercury is a toxic pollutant that significantly impacts human health and the environment. Mercury can enter the food chain and eventually make its way to the dinner table in the form of marine and freshwater fish and shellfish. Mercury is extremely toxic and there is no safe level of exposure for humans. Mercury can cause brain damage, particularly in children under the age of six.

Mercury pollution is a known killer of the endangered Florida Panther. Great egrets, bald eagles, and wood storks feeding primarily on fish in the Everglades have tested positive for toxic levels of mercury.

Mercury can enter the food chain and eventually make its way to the dinner table in the form of marine and freshwater fish and shellfish. Mercury is extremely toxic and there is no safe level of exposure for humans. Mercury can cause brain damage, particularly in children under the age of six. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that one in twelve women in the United States has absorbed enough mercury to pose a threat to a developing fetus.

Human health risks associated with mercury become economic costs for people exposed to mercury. Mercury pollution threatens tourism as well as the region’s recreational and commercial fishing industries.

The scientific evidence indicating mercury is a toxic pollutant to be concerned with is plentiful. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury. Mercury can permanently damage the brain, kidneys, and developing fetus. Very young children are more sensitive to mercury than adults.

Until phosphate mining, fertilizer processing, and phosphogypsum waste disposal operations are reviewed altogether, we will never fully realize the actual public health and environmental impact the phosphate industry has on Florida.