Mile 160.4 - 160.4 - Mosaic Uncle Sam

160.4 - Mosaic Uncle Sam

Mosaic’s Uncle Sam plant brings in phosphate rock from Florida and Peru. The phosphate rock is then combined with sulfuric acid to produce phosphoric acid which is shipped to Mosaic’s Faustina plant just up the river.

The Uncle Sam facility sits on a 3,300-acre site, was originally owned by Freeport Chemical Co., and then by IMC global between 1993 and 1994, and was bought by Mosaic on Oct. 22, 2004.

This process results in a huge amount of phosphogypsum waste. This phosphogypsum is slightly radioactive because of the uranium and thorium that occurs in phosphate rock. Because of this the phosphogypsum waste is piled up into a huge pile behind the facility. The EPA contends that the phosphogypsum waste has been improperly handled and disposed of over the years and in 2015 Mosaic entered into a $2 billion dollar settlement with them. The pile of phosphogypsum behind the Uncle Sam plant covers more than 960 acres and is approaching 200 feet tall. You might be able to see it looming up in the distance as you paddle by.

Toxic Releases (TRI) for 2013 in pounds:

CF Industries:
Air: 321,139
Water: 18