The feared collapse of a west Florida phosphate mine waste containment dike did not happen last week. Evacuees are back in their houses. All is good. Yet this incident, which received scant news coverage outside of Florida, contained potential consequences as bad as similar spills in North Carolina, Brazil and elsewhere, and exemplifies a critical economic challenge â one that we as a global society confront very badly.
People need things such as electricity, copper and steel, as well as fertilizer to grow feed and food. Unfortunately, producing these needed goods often leaves toxic residues that can contaminate streams or groundwater. This can happen decades later, long after the producing facility was closed and often after the original company has disappeared. Much of this pollution was legal at the time it occurred.