Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending reporter for CBS News, focusing on social justice issues.
Why can’t media outlets find someone that can explain the issue? The article barely makes any sense.
There is natural occuring radioactive products in the phosphorus-gypsum composite. As the phosphates are used (naturally occuring in Florida btw and the radioactive parts were already there) what is left behind are small amounts of radioactive elements.
Bananas and spinach are radioactive fyi.
This is hard to understand because the nincompoop writing it doesn’t understand that radioactivity isn’t the same in all elements. Like I said, bananas have radioactive potassium in them. Right now you are getting radiation, from the universe when God made it. Most of the midwestern United States is in a radon belt, where people get radon in their basements. Radon is an alpha emitter (helium) and when it gets in your lungs you get lung cancer. Polonium in cigarettes is an alpha emitter as well. Iodine 129, what is given off during a meltdown like Chernobyl, gives off betas (electrons) and gammas. People take iodine pills so the radiation is absorbed in the pill and flushed out instead of destroying your thyroid (which uses iodine). You poop out radioactive banana parts and it has limited affect on you.
I’m guessing by the fact that there is nothing about the actual radiation levels, it’s probably not that high.
Radioactive minerals are found in phosphates. Refined into fertilizer liberates the minerals to contaminate the refining waste product.
Li Cohen is a dishonest “reporter”. Phosphogypsum is NOT naturally radioactive. It absorbs low levels of naturally occurring radioactivity/materials in its environment including Thoriuam and Uranium (known to us as background radiation, esp. from granite and other igneous rocks).
A good article at Wikipedia “Phosphogypsum” says that the processed remains of the phosphate made into fertilizer is stored the way it is was because it had “weak radioactivity”.
Also Uranium is found in seawater due to the natural deterioration of rock (aka background radiation).
The mentioned “Center for Biological Diversity” is a hardcore leftist, extremely well (foundation) funded leftist group (out of California as I recall). They are the twin of the far-left Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and not to be trusted.
“social justice” issues writer Li Cohen is a hack journalist and budding Marxist propagandist.
Spread the word: She’s a poisonous fake journalist.
