Hello, we’re shutting down this blog now. But you can find all the latest in our new blog with Cecilia Nowell – she’ll be updating you as Hurricane Milton makes landfall. Follow it here:
As Hurricane Milton nears landfall, environmentalists are raising concerns that the storm could scatter hazardous waste across Florida. More than 1bn tons of slightly radioactive phosphogypsum – waste left over from producing fertilizer – is stored in the state, near phosphate mines and fertilizer processing plants in the center of the state. Nearly all of the waste is in Milton’s projected path, the Associated Press reports, and could pollute nearby water supplies.
“Placing vulnerable sites so close on major waterways that are at risk of damage from storms is a recipe for disaster,” said Ragan Whitlock, a staff attorney at the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity. “These are ticking time bombs.”
Updated
