Piney Point collapse ‘imminent’ as DeSantis issues state of emergency for Manatee County

[wondermint2]

Contamination from Piney Point spill detected as far away as Tarpon Springs

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/co...1ec9e5cb&ei=50

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A new study shows contaminated wastewater from the former Piney Point fertilizer plant spread much further than originally suspected.

In March of 2021, leaks were found in the containment walls of the plant. Stored at the top of the phosphogypsum stack were more than 400 million gallons of highly contaminated wastewater.

In April, fearing the containment walls would collapse and flood the surrounding community, officials released more than 200 million gallons of wastewater from the plant into Tampa Bay.

Now a study shows that wastewater traveled as far as Tarpon Springs.

“What we found is that the water that was discharged at Piney Point had an isotopic signature that no one had ever seen before in Florida,” said David Tomasko the Executive Director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program.

The isotopic signature allowed researchers to track the flow of the contaminated wastewater, but finding the signature at a test sight in Tarpon Springs was a surprise.

“I think it’s the worst thing that happened in decades,” said Tomasko.

He says the contamination contributed to red tide in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Functionally, it’s as if we had 10 billion gallons of wastewater spill out into the bay in 10 days. Of course, you are going to have a horrible red tide,” said Tomasko.

He says the impact of the spill will be seen for some time to come.

“We don’t even know how big the impacts are because it’s still too early,” said Tomasko.

[wondermint2]

'Amazing progress.' Piney Point operators celebrate key milestones toward site closure

For full article:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/to...608b549a&ei=64

In just over three months since activating the well, Piney Point's site operators have drained 63 million gallons of contaminated water from the long-plagued facility.

Because the ponds cover dozens of acres on the property, every inch of rainfall has a dramatic effect, adding 3.6 million gallons of water to the site. In recent months, the site has been spared from heavy rainfall.

"We are making amazing progress — even better than I hoped back in April," Barath said, referring to when the well began accepting water earlier this year.

By the end of July, crews expect to have a proof of concept for a permanently closed gypsum stack. Old Gypsum Stack South, one of several ponds on the site, has been outfitted with pipes to drain excess water, filled with soil and covered with grass seeds.

"This is what a closed gypsum stack will look like," Barath said.

Despite recent progress, Piney Point is still at least 18 months away from final closure. There are still millions of gallons of water that need to be treated before entering the well, and the process of capping the ponds once they are empty is a delicate one, operators say.

[StraightTalker2022]

It looks like they will be using the radioactive substances as a new component in road construction. This is the solution that the phosphate industry has come up with; to make it invisible. As long as the dumb people can't see it, it doesn't exist. TAKE DOWN THOSE HIDEOUS LOOKING GYPSUM STACKS!
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/ce...rial-for-roads

[beach43ofus]

So, the roads will glow at night? It will save on electricty.