TAMPA — In an unprecedented move, federal regulators announced Thursday they will allow Florida to dispose 500-million gallons of acidic wastewater into the Gulf of Mexico. The waste from the abandoned Piney Point phosphate mine in Manatee County could be loaded onto barges and sprayed into the gulf starting in two weeks, said Allan Bedwell, […]
News Archive
Welcome to the Fluoride Action Network News Archive. The FAN News Archive serves as an historical repository for fluoride news stories, positive or negative. Since FAN catalogs all news stories on fluoride, our news section remains a reliable database of all published fluoride news.
Our news database is categorized by country, state/province, and industry. This collection of articles is constantly being updated with the most recent global news on fluoride-related issues and events.
Piney Point: Phosphate Nightmare
Given the unfortunate options before them, Florida regulators probably have no choice but to use the Gulf of Mexico as a sewer for phosphate waste. But let no one in state government mark this off as unavoidable environmental fate. What is happening with this massive heap of phosphogypsum waste near Port Manatee was foreseeable and […]
Gypsum Stacks Cleanup Costly
TALLAHASSEE – State environmental regulators say they need to spend $45 million in the coming year to pump 750 million gallons of contaminated water from a former phosphate fertilizer plant in Manatee County. Nearly 800 million gallons of acid- laden water is stored atop radioactive phosphogypsum stacks at the Piney Point plant near Port Manatee. […]
Dumping Acidic Water In Gulf Is Best Of Dismal Alternatives
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection proposes an unusual way to deal with a grave pollution threat to Tampa Bay. It wants to discharge nutrient-laced water into the Gulf of Mexico. The agency is seeking emergency approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of its plan to get rid of the 600 million gallons of […]
DEP Aims To Up Dump In Bay
PALMETTO – State environmental officials Thursday proposed to more than double the amount of treated waste water dumped daily into Tampa Bay from a toxic cleanup. The Department of Environmental Protection has asked for an emergency order to allow 2 million gallons of treated waste water from Piney Point, a former phosphate fertilizer plant, to […]
Coronet Working To Control Arsenic
PLANT CITY – Each time the region experiences heavy rain, settling ponds at one of the county’s oldest phosphate processing plants release arsenic and other toxins into a nearby stream. Coronet Industries, at 4082 Coronet Road on the east side of Plant City, is under orders from the state to make sure the spills don’t […]
Martin County water to get fluoride
Martin County residents won’t be able to taste it, but they’ll soon be fighting tooth decay with every sip of county water. The Martin County Commission on Tuesday favored adding “therapeutic levels” of fluoride to the county’s water supply. When added to drinking water, fluoride has been shown to strengthen tooth enamel and prevent decay. […]
Phosphate industry aims to be corporate neighbor
The phosphate mining industry attempts to promote favorable regulations and a positive image in the ways one might expect of a billion-dollar global industry. The industry lobbies lawmakers, contributes to community coffers and publishes literature that suggests phosphate mining pumps billions of dollars into the economy and leaves behind reclaimed lands in a near-pristine condition. […]
Poor kids’ dental care nothing to smile about
Nov. 10–Three-year-old Raul Rodriguez clutches the wall, smiling warily as older kids bounce surgical-glove balloons off each other’s heads in the dentist office. Bashful, but no easy scare, Raul made his first solo ride in a dentist chair at the Osceola County Health Department Dental Office that same day last month — after just two […]
Fluoride-Polluted Escambia County to Begin Water Fluoridation
Most Escambia County residents now drink tap water containing fluoride, a fact that pleases health officials but continues to concern those who say the commonly accepted method of fighting tooth decay is dangerous. The Escambia County Utilities Authority has spent about $500,000 so far adding fluoride to nearly half its 31 active wells. Water from […]