Heavy Metal Waste From Fertilizer Production

Uncle Sam, Louisiana, USA

This is one of the top 10% most polluting factories in the USA. It is known to be a major emitter of lead, but the fertilizer industry in particular has been effective in pressuring the EPA to reduce the reporting requirements to which it is subject, making the clear picture of its emissions difficult. Phosphate rock usually found with uranium, is processed with sulphuric acid to extract the phosphorus needed for fertilizers, and leaving five parts acidic radioactive waste per one part usable fertilizer. When the market price of uranium is high enough, it is extracted and sold, otherwise it remains in large mountains on the site. Because of the exemptions in the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, which specifically exempt fertilizer manufacturers, there is no way to know the actual pollution created by this facility. The contaminants it does report prove it to be one of the most polluting in the USA.