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Possible Radon Gas Problems

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Homes in Angler’s Green, listed as possibly contaminated

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Barry Friedman

Barry Friedman of Lkldnow,  an independent online newsletter, has written an article about the  Lanier Law Firm, with offices in Houston, New York and Los Angeles, which is interested in pursuing  lawsuits for people who unknowingly bought houses built on contaminated land.

The housing developments are built on reclaimed phosphate land which the EPA says may be dangerous to human health, and it also may be that the home-buyers were not advised beforehand.

The following is taken from the website of the Lanier Law Firm.

Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life:  once taken, it cannot be brought back-


Florida Phosphate Contamination

In internal documents never before released to the public, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified industrial phosphate strip-mining operations that have scarred large areas of south central Florida and resulted in dangerous radiation contamination threatening generations of residents. In Polk County communities including Oakbridge, Grasslands, Paradise Lakes and Angler’s Green, residents are being exposed to cancer-causing gamma rays, as well as potentially high levels of radon gas after unknowingly purchasing homes built on top of and around former mines. According to these documents, the result is a large-scale public health emergency that mining companies like Drummond Company and Mosaic Company are refusing to acknowledge.

To extract phosphate rock from the ground, phosphate mine operators use a strip mining process that scrapes off a sandy topsoil layer in large sections to expose a layer of phosphate, sand and clay. Mining operations typically retrieve about 9,000 tons of phosphate rock per acre, but create even larger amounts of toxic radioactive waste in the process. For every ton of phosphate recovered, the operations create five tons of hazardous waste material.

Some of the toxic waste is visible, like the radioactive gypsum stacks that cover hundreds of acres, reaching toward the sky and visible miles above the Earth, but much of the radiation threat is below the soil’s surface. As a result, homeowners unknowingly are being exposed to dangerously high levels of radiation rising up from below.

One of the most egregious examples is the Poseidon Mine, which was purchased by Drummond Company in 1978. In 1982, Drummond ceased mining operations and began developing 1,400 acres of mine-scarred land into subdivisions including Oakbridge and Grasslands.

In and around the Paradise Lakes and Angler’s Green subdivisions, phosphate mines operated by Mosaic Company have caused dangerous levels of radiation exposure. Even though these companies were aware of the toxic conditions on these properties, home buyers were not informed about the potential health threats.

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As a result, residents in these neighborhoods are exposed to high concentrations of radiation from the breakdown of uranium in the soil. This radiation produces gamma rays that can penetrate the body and increase the risk of a variety of cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma and bone cancer. The decaying uranium also releases radon, an odorless, radioactive gas that is linked to lung cancer. The gas seeps up into homes from underground and contaminates indoor and outdoor air. Exposure can also occur from contaminated water.

phosphatelawsuit2 In: Possible Radon Gas Problems | Our Santa Fe River, Inc. (OSFR) | Protecting the Santa Fe River

Testing by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirmed elevated levels of contamination in these residential areas. Tests performed by the EPA prior to the development of the Oakbridge subdivision showed radiation levels 11 to 21 times higher than the EPA’s acceptable risk limit. In 2003, the EPA’s Florida Phosphate Initiative noted that homes built on reclaimed mine property have heightened radiation levels, including a median radian concentration that is 4 to 22 times higher than pre-mined land and gamma exposure 2 to 3 times higher than normal. The EPA specifically identified Oakbridge as an area in urgent need of assessment. According to the health authorities, there is no “safe” exposure level to radiation.

phosphatelawsuit3 In: Possible Radon Gas Problems | Our Santa Fe River, Inc. (OSFR) | Protecting the Santa Fe River

The Lanier Law Firm is investigating mine owners Drummond and Mosaic for causing toxic contamination in and around the Oakbridge, Grasslands, Paradise Lakes and Angler’s Green neighborhoods in Polk County, and for failing to alert prospective home buyers about dangerous radiation contamination.

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3 Comments

  1. This information is riddled with mis-information about Radon gas — it is an ionizing radiation — not gamma! I am not an expert, but this needs to be clarified. Radon is found natural throughout our country, some parts more and others less! It is considered a “heavy” gas — meaning it will travel low to the ground, but can be easily “stirred” up by winds or passing vehicles. The big problem with it is, if it gets in your lungs, it will remain in the lower cavity of the lung. It’s ionizing radiation just sits and emits damaging radiation — kind of like sitting on the beach 24/7 for years!!! Radiation is a very big problem in phosphate mining, so big, that there are parts of the country that has adapted special building codes, which over-rides standard building codes — causing homes to be build with “open” ventilation to allow the Radon Gas to escape the building — re: not build up in any room!! The effects of radiation — WILL —- will shut these mining operations down — sad thing — it will effect many thousands of innocent people stricken with lung cancer, before our government has a CONCLUSIVE amount of proof to force the closures of these mines. We already have enough evidence in the Tampa area — but it has been covered up by Florida’s Governor and Republican legislators. An area larger than ten square miles — exposing over 100,000 people —- with a radiation level greater than the limit of 4p/C per liter of air!!!! This is documented by our government agencies — it is not hearsay!!!!! But please get proper information about the issue…… Thanks

    1. Charlie, I am not an expert either, but the article states in the first paragraph “residents are being exposed to cancer-causing gamma rays, as well as potentially high levels of radon gas” which sounds to me like the gamma radiation is a separate issue from the radon.

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