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Polluted waste from fertilizer industry in Hurricane Milton’s path [Video]
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Polluted waste from fertilizer industry in Hurricane Milton’s path [Video]

As Hurricane Milton pummeled Floridas west coast with powerful winds and flooding rain, environmentalists worry it could scatter the polluted leftovers of the states phosphate fertilizer mining industry and other hazardous waste across the peninsula and into vulnerable waterways.Related video above: Federal government ramps up aid as Hurricane Milton nears FloridaMore than 1 billion tons of slightly radioactive phosphogypsum waste is stored in “stacks” that resemble enormous ponds at risk for leaks during major storms. Florida has 25 such stacks, most concentrated around enormous phosphate mines and fertilizer processing plants in the central part of the state, and environmentalists say nearly all of them are in Milton’s projected path.”Placing vulnerable sites so close on major waterways that are at risk of damage from storms is a recipe for disaster,” said Ragan Whitlock, a staff attorney at the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity. “These are ticking time bombs.”Phosphogypsum, a solid waste byproduct from processing phosphate ore to make chemical fertilizer, contains radium, which decays to form radon gas. Both radium and radon are radioactive and can cause cancer. Phosphogypsum may also contain toxic heavy metals and other carcinogens, such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury and nickel.That waste is even more troublesome because there is no easy way to dispose of it, leaving it to pile up and become an ever-growing target for such storms as the monster Milton, which is expected to slam into central Florida late Wednesday as at least a Category 3, with sustained winds approaching 130 mph, a possible 8- to 12-foot storm surge and 18 inches of rain.A lesser storm, Hurricane Frances, which hit the state’s eastern coast as a Category 2 and churned across central Florida in 2004, sent 65 million gallons of acidic wastewater from phosphogypsum stacks into nearby waterways, killing thousands of fish and other marine life.Of particular concern from Milton is the Piney Point wastewater reservoir, which sits on the shore of Tampa Bay and has had structural issues that have caused regular leaks over the years.A March 2021 leak resulted in the release of an estimated 215 million gallons of polluted water into the bay and caused massive fish kills. Another leak in August 2022 unleashed another 4.5 million gallons of wastewater. Compounding the problem is the bankruptcy filing of the site’s former owner, HRC Holdings, leaving it to be managed by a court-appointed receiver.The nation’s largest U.S. phosphate producer, The Mosaic Company, owns two stacks at its Riverview facility that sit on the shore of Tampa Bay. In 2016, a sinkhole opened beneath the company’s New Wales Gypstack, sending millions of gallons of contaminated sludge into the state’s main drinking water aquifer. The company said tests showed there were no offsite impacts from the incident, but the site is at risk of further damage from a storm as powerful as Milton.Asked about its preparations for the coming storm, Mosaic pointed to a statement on its website: “Preparations for hurricane season include reviewing lessons learned from the previous year, updating our preparedness and response plans … and completing inspections to ensure all test pumps, generators and other equipment needed in the event of severe weather are onsite and in proper working order.”Florida and North Carolina are responsible for mining 75% of the U.S. supply of phosphorous, which is important not only to agriculture but to munitions production.Beyond the mine stacks, the Tampa Bay area is also home to old toxic waste sites that are considered among the worst in the nation. A former pesticide production site, the Stauffer Chemical Co., has polluted the Anclote River, groundwater and soil. Today it is an EPA Superfund site undergoing years of cleanup.The EPA posted on the website that it is “ensuring that this site is secured for potential impacts from Hurricane Milton.”The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said Tuesday it is preparing all available resources critical to the facilities it regulates, as well as securing state parks and aquatic preserves to minimize storm effects.”At this time, we are preparing locally for the storm both professionally and personally,” Mosaic spokeswoman Ashleigh Gallant said. “If there are impacts, we will release those publicly after the storm.”

South Carolina: Helene death toll rises [Video]
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Small Business Lifestyle

South Carolina: Helene death toll rises [Video]

There have been numerous storm-related deaths in South Carolina from Helene. (Above video is live coverage of Helene recovery when available.)Update – 2:50 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9The numbers provided below have been confirmed through the coroners office in each county to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.Total weather-related deaths: 49Aiken: 11Anderson: 5Chester: 2Chesterfield: 1Greenville: 7Greenwood: 1Laurens: 3Newberry: 5Richland: 1Saluda: 3Spartanburg: 9York: 1Update – Saturday, Oct. 5, from Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger: “I regret to report the 9th storm related death as a result of hurricane Helene coming through Spartanburg last Friday. A two car vehicle crash occurred on Highway 292 near Inman last Friday evening ( September 27, 2024 just after 9:00 p.m. )that caused the injury and subsequent demise of a man we identified as (Lester A. Brown Jr. , 79 years old) of Bumblebee Lane Wellford. “A tree fell across the road and forced both vehicles to attempt to stop causing them to collide. Mr. Brown was transported to the hospital for his injuries. He passed away on October 2, 2024″I ask you keep the family of Mr. Brown in your thoughts and prayers during their time of loss and grief.”Update – 2:40 p.m. Friday: Total weather related deaths: 46Aiken: 10Anderson: 5Chester: 2Chesterfield: 1Greenville: 7Greenwood: 1Laurens: 3Newberry: 4Richland: 1Saluda: 3Spartanburg: 8York: 1Update – 2:15 p.m. Thursday: Total weather related deaths: 41Aiken: 6Anderson: 5Chester: 2Chesterfield: 1Greenville: 7Greenwood: 1Laurens: 3Newberry: 3Richland: 1Saluda: 3Spartanburg: 8York: 1Update – 4:30 p.m. Wednesday: Total weather-related deaths: 39Aiken: 6Anderson: 4Chester: 2Chesterfield: 1Greenville: 6Greenwood: 1Laurens: 3Newberry: 3Richland: 1Saluda: 3Spartanburg: 8York: 1Update – 10:30 a.m. WednesdayThe coroner in Spartanburg County on Wednesday released the name of the second person killed in a storm-related crash on Tuesday, bringing the number of Helene deaths in that county to eight.Coroner Rusty Clevenger said Faye Farr Webber, 86, of Jonesville, South Carolina, was a passenger in a Toyota Camry that was hit at an intersection without a working traffic light.Clevenger previously said that Sarah Ann Farr, 77, of Jonesville, South Carolina, died at the scene and was not wearing a seat belt. He said the two are sisters.Read more about the crash here.Update – 8:30 p.m. Tuesday:A deadly crash that happened at a Spartanburg County intersection on Tuesday will be classified as a storm-related death, the coroner said.Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said his office responded just after 2 p.m. on Highway 9, which is Boiling Springs Road, and California Avenue.Clevenger said Sarah Ann Farr, 77, of Jonesville, South Carolina, was a passenger in one of the vehicles and died at the scene and was not wearing a seat belt.The South Carolina Highway Patrol said another passenger in the same car died later at the hospital.More about the crash here.”This case will be the seventh storm-related fatality my county has experienced since the beginning of the storm Helene last Friday,” Clevenger said. “The traffic light at the intersection where this crash occurred was not functioning due to power loss due to the storm.”This raises the death toll in South Carolina to 37, and the death toll in Spartanburg County to seven, adding to previously reported numbers.South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said during an afternoon news briefing on Helene recovery that 36 people in the state have died as a result of the storm. He compared that number to Hurricane Hugo in Sept. 1989, which killed 35 people in South Carolina.Update: Tuesday afternoon: 36 deathsAiken: 6Anderson: 4Chester: 2Chesterfield: 1Greenville: 6Greenwood: 1Newberry: 2Richland: 1Saluda: 3Spartanburg: 6York: 1Laurens: 3Updates on Tuesday morning: 33 total deathsAiken: 6Anderson: 4Chester: 2Chesterfield: 1Greenville: 6Greenwood: 1Newberry: 2Richland: 1Saluda: 3Spartanburg: 6York: 1 Previous story below has specific information on deaths that coroners have released so far:Laurens County: Tree vs car in Clinton Richard Dylan Rathbone 31-year-old male from Clinton Thomas Carson Lawson 41-year-old male from ClintonTree vs camper Carl Thomas Bailey 59-year-old male from Cross Hill Updates as of Monday morning: Aiken: 5Anderson: 4Chesterfield: 1Greenville: 6Greenwood: 1Newberry: 2Saluda: 3Spartanburg: 6York: 1Previous story below has specific information on deaths that coroners have released so far: Greenville County: 6 deaths Six storm-related deaths have been reported in Greenville County. Spartanburg County: 6 deaths Spartanburg Coroner Rusty Clevenger says 6 people have died in his county. The latest death to be reported occurred on Friday around 9 p.m. The coroner was called to Parris Bridge Road in Chesnee, where the coroner found 68-year-old Jimmy Lee Wall dead in his home. Upon initial entry to Wall’s home by the fire department, there were extremely high levels of carbon monoxide recorded. There had been a running generator inside the residence powering at least one appliance.He said a tree fell on a home and killed AnnaMaria Fletcher, 34, on Rainbow Circle in Inman. Clevenger said a tree fell on her home while she was inside.3 people died in Landrum- 2 were killed when a tree fell on a golf cart and the other was a person in a car that was swept away by water. Saturday the coroner identified the two men on the golf cart as Christopher Mark Owens, 64 and Derrill Eugene “Gene” Pitts, 70.One of the people who died in Landrum was identified by the coroner as 88-year-old Ralph Selle of Columbus, North Carolina. The coroner’s office was called to Highway 14 near the intersection of Earles Fort Road on Friday afternoon. The coroner said Selle was inside a vehicle that was completely submerged due to extensive flooding in the roadway.The 5th death was in Chesnee when a tree fell on a camper. The coroner identified that man as Alvaro Burgos-Guitierrez, 41.Anderson County: 4 deathsFour more deaths have been reported in Anderson County, South Carolina.The latest death was reported on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. The coroner said the incident is on Broadwell Mill Road off Highway 29, and involves a car being swept away by water.The coroner says the victim was tracked down due to the victim’s phone signal around Harbin Road.The coroner says that 60-year-old Karen Mcall died after downing as a result of her car being swept away.They also say they had to extricated Mcall from the wooded area via rescue helicopter deployed for the Helene disaster relief. Coroner Greg Shore said a tree fell on a woman’s home on W. Whitner Street around 7:30 a.m. Friday. Shore said the victim was identified as 55-year-old Christine Lynn Schmeiske.He said officials found her under heavy debris and she was pronounced deceased on the scene.”The investigation indicates the victim was in her residence and due to the high winds and heavy rain of hurricane Helene, a large tree fell across the center of the house and killed the victim,” Shore said. Shore said 54-year-old Sandy Lee Fisher also died when a tree fell on her house on Williams Road in Anderson. He said Fisher was also found under heavy debris and pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner responded to a wreck on Saturday around 1:40 a.m. on Main Street in Pelzer. Main Street was down to a one lane road, due to the storm, which caused two vehicles to be traveling different directions in the same lane hitting head on. Two people in one of the vehicles were transported to Prisma Health with non-life-threatening injuries.The coroner identified the victim who died in the other vehicle as 83-year-old Bobby Jean Foster of Belton, South Carolina.The investigation indicated that Foster was driving a Nissan Frontier traveling east on Main Street in Pelzer and was struck head-on by a Ford Explorer traveling west. The Ford Explorer was attempting to go around a large tree and downed power lines, that were blocking the west bound lane and traveled into the oncoming lane of traffic striking Foster’s vehicle.The coroner said this death has been attributed to Helene as a weather-related death due to damage in the area and obstacles in the road that contributed to the crash.Saluda County: 3 deaths On Saturday afternoon, the South Carolina Department of Public Safety reported another person has died due to Helene.Two firefighters were killed in Saluda County when a tree fell on a firetruck, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster confirmed those deaths during a news conference on Friday afternoon.Newberry County: 2 deaths McMaster also said there were two storm-related deaths in Newberry County.Aiken County: 4 deaths South Carolina Department of Public Safety reports four deaths in Aiken.Chesterfield County: 1 deathThe South Carolina Department of Public Safety reported one death in Chesterfield as of Saturday afternoon.

New Hampshire HSEM sending crew to Florida to assist in Hurricane Milton recovery efforts Boston 25 News [Video]
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New Hampshire HSEM sending crew to Florida to assist in Hurricane Milton recovery efforts Boston 25 News [Video]

Five employees from the New Hampshire Department of Safetys Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) are being deployed to Florida to respond and help with recovery efforts to Hurricane Milton.

Whittier Samoan residents who are U.S. nationals claim state troopers asked for immigration status [Video]
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Whittier Samoan residents who are U.S. nationals claim state troopers asked for immigration status [Video]

Roughly 25 American Samoan residents who live in the small city of Whitter believe Alaska State Troopers targeted them believing they were illegal immigrants violating election laws, even though they are registered U.S. nationals.