Along one section of the Mississippi River, three massive fertilizer plants contribute to industrial pollution in Louisiana communities.

How vulnerable are the southeast’s phosphate plants, mines and mountains of waste to stronger rains and hurricanes?

One of the most common elements in the universe, nitrogen is also a crucial ingredient in fertilizer. All living things need it to survive. But it can kill, too.

Abundant phosphate reserves made the Sunshine State a key player in the global fertilizer industry — leading to both riches and sacrifices.

Said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando: "I am concerned that our approach is one that does not take in consideration health risks.”

The digging of a deep well at the troubled Piney Point phosphate plant in Manatee County has been completed. Now, workers are injecting 1 million gallons of polluted water deep underground, every day. WUSF takes a tour of the site, to see what's being done to make sure huge spills don't happen again.

Here are the key developments at the troubled Piney Point phosphate plant, including a spill that prompted officials to pump more than 200 million gallons of the reservoir’s polluted water into Tampa Bay.

They warn that the contamination of Florida’s air, water and soil could increase the risk of cancer if the wins approval.

The Piney Point plant has had several spills, with the latest coming in 2021, when 215 million gallons were released into Tampa Bay to relieve pressure from a leak.

The mining industry has been searching for ways to reduce the size of gypstacks, such as the one at Piney Point that leaked into Tampa Bay in 2021.

More water was released over the weekend from the troubled Piney Point phosphate plant into Tampa Bay. But this time, the water is not expected to impact the bay.

Plans to rezone thousands of acres in Central Florida for a new phosphate mine have been put off for at least two years.