(Column by Quin Hillyer, Feb. 23 in print) Even conservatives should recognize that the federal government, in certain circumstances, has an important role in basic scientific research.
When millions and millions of cubic feet of (somewhat) radioactive and toxically acidic gypsum sit adjacent to a marsh, three-quarters of a mile from the Mississippi River, that’s exactly such a circumstance.
This newspaper editorialized last week [and see below here at Quinhillyer.com] about the gypsum conundrum. This is a case when a company making a product that helps feed millions produces waste materials that, alas, are worrisome enough that the government rightly regulates its storage and use. On the other hand, because those necessary government regulations are so burdensome, the profit motive alone can’t make it cost-effective for the private company to pay for research into alternative uses of the waste.
Nobody wants to shut down the company, Mosaic Fertilizer: Its phosphorous fertilizer helps boost crop yields all over the world, while the company supports jobs for many hundreds in St. James Parish. But the (mildly) radioactive gypsum sits in a pile that reaches 200 feet high, spreading over more than 1,000 acres. Mosaic hopes to eventually raise the pile to 310 feet. Inside those piles are 300 acres worth of well-lined lakes collecting toxic water runoff.
Six years ago, the pile started shifting, threatening a collapse that could have released hazardous materials — not just radioactive, but dangerously acidic — into the surrounding marshes and neighborhoods. In Florida, a similar facility experienced breaches that caused the release of 200 million gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay. Louisiana has a high water table anyway, and of course, we’re in Hurricane Alley. No matter how careful Mosaic is in trying to stabilize and neutralize its gypsum piles, the potential for disaster is obvious.
Indeed, without the government’s oversight, the disaster already would have happened back in 1987…. [The full column is at this link.]
