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EPA Resists Call To Halt Radiation Surveys

The Inside Story –

EPA Resists Call To Halt Radiation Surveys

Posted: September 9, 2011

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is resisting GOP demands that the agency commit to halt aerial surveys that could inform a potentially precedent-setting cleanup of an area in central Florida where the agency fears that tens of thousands of people living on former phosphate mines are being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation.

An agency spokeswoman says that during a Sept. 7 meeting, Jackson told GOP critics that the agency has “no current plans” to conduct such surveys, but stopped short of agreeing to the lawmakers’ call to permanently halt the flyovers.

At issue are approximately 10 square miles of contaminated land near Lakeland, FL, where EPA has taken no cleanup action despite having had the concerns since the late 1970s. To address the concerns, which were first made public by an award-winning series of Inside EPA articles in 2010, the agency has so far conducted only one preliminary aerial radiation survey near the area in question.

But EPA’s survey has prompted opposition from GOP lawmakers representing the area, including Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), who is planning to push an amendment to EPA’s upcoming appropriations bill blocking further EPA survey work. Ross, together with other GOP lawmakers, sent a letter to Jackson earlier this year that criticized the agency for having recently conducted the preliminary survey and demanded that the agency conduct no further flyovers, saying they could hurt Florida’s economy. The lawmakers also called EPA’s long-held Superfund cleanup standards “arbitrary.”

In a Sept. 7 press release, Ross claimed that he had met with Jackson in his Washington, DC office and had won a commitment from the Administrator “to conduct no future radiation flyovers.” In the press release, Ross called the alleged commitment from Jackson “a giant step in the right direction,” because further surveys would “impact every Floridian in thousands of dollars a year in new costs and potentially devastating effects on an already depressed housing market.”

During the meeting with Jackson, Ross said he “made clear that decades of study, from industry to University, show that radiation levels at mining sites in central Florida contain less radiation than living in the suburbs of Denver, and that any radiation monitoring must be done with agreed upon benchmarks based on accepted scientific standards.”

But Ross’s press release “is misleading,” an agency spokeswoman says in a statement to Inside EPA. “Administrator Jackson did not commit to no flyovers – she simply stated at this time there are no plans to do any,” the EPA spokeswoman says.

The EPA spokeswoman also defended the use of aerial surveys, calling them “a common sense, low-cost way of detecting whether there is radiation in the soil, radiation that could harm people in their communities.” The spokeswoman says that “EPA undertakes a strict scientific and public process to determine what levels of radiation are unsafe” and that the agency “has a duty to gather information to ensure public health and the environment are protected.”

EPA is “committed to continuing to work with States to listen and address any issues of concerns,” the spokeswoman says.

Reaching a consensus with state officials regarding the Florida phosphate issue could prove difficult, however. The desire of EPA officials to use their Superfund standards as the basis for any cleanups in the area has long been a source of contention between EPA, Florida and phosphate mining industry officials, and the disagreement has prompted concerns amongst environmentalists who fear the precedent that could be set if EPA abandons its long-held standards.

In addition, Ross is preparing to insert his amendment blocking any additional survey work in the fiscal year 2012 budget bill when it is recalled to the House floor. The amendment would block surveys “of any facility in the State of Florida in Polk county or Hillsborough county that is listed in” EPA’s Superfund database, known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS).

But Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), who has raised concerns about the Florida phosphate issue in the past, may oppose the amendment. A Capitol Hill source said recently that Markey continues to track the issue and may speak in opposition to the Ross amendment when it comes up on the House floor.

In addition, Florida environmentalists are urging Jackson to reject the demands of Ross and the other Florida Republicans, which include Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Richard Nugent and Thomas Rooney. In a July 20 letter, the activists say they “strongly support a fully scientific review of the impacts of phosphate mining, including the aerial radiation surveys which are long overdue.”

A Ross spokesman could not be reached for comment.

--

Douglas P. Guarino

Associate Editor

Inside Washington Publishers

(Inside EPA's Superfund Report)

1919 South Eads Street, Suite 201

Arlington, VA 22202

703-416-8518

fax:703-416-8543

mailto:[email protected]

Class-Action Silicofluoride Lawsuit

LEAD, ARSENIC, SILICOFLUORIDE ADDED TO DRINKING WATER
Notice of Liability Served on Seattle and Everett
Suit Filed in Federal Court in San Diego

http://fluoride-class-action.com/hempfest-2011

August 20, 2011

Seattle, Everett, Tacoma and other cities use silicofluoride as the fluoridation material they add to their drinking water. Silicofluoride and sodium fluoride are much more toxic than naturally occurring calcium fluoride. Calcium fluoride can be the most pure; sodium fluoride is industrial grade but relatively free of contaminants; silicofluoride is industrial grade toxic waste and highly contaminated with heavy metals.

Silicofluoride contains lead. http://www.nsf.org/business/water_distribution/pdf/NSF_Fact_Sheet.pdf. The EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) for lead is 15 ppb, and the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) is zero. Lead permeates all cells in the body, reduces IQ, and causes kidney disease and high blood pressure.

In 2004, the Seattle papers reported that lead at up to 1,600 ppb was found in drinking water in old Seattle schools. Silicofluoride, unlike more expensive sodium fluoride, leaches lead out of brass pipes. http://www.fluoridealert.org/sf-masters.htm.

New brass pipes contain around 8% lead and older pipes contain as much as 30% lead. All old schools, old homes, old apartment buildings, old hospitals, old office buildings, and old factories can be expected to contain brass pipes with high lead content, which silicofluoride will leach out. http://fluoride-class-action.com/hhs/comments-re-lead.

If water districts stopped fluoridating with silicofluorides, lead levels in water in old buildings would drop dramatically and lead levels in blood would drop dramatically. http://www.fluoridealert.org/sf-masters.htm.

Fluoridation exists within a blindspot. It has become an article of faith. One is told not to try to understand the mystery but to believe in it fervently nevertheless. When it comes to politics, one is saved by faith in fluoride. A politician who opposes fluoridation will have to contend with the wrath and bottomless war chest of the pro-fluoride dental lobby, who probably get their money indirectly from the silicofluoride manufacturers.

Read More: http://fluoride-class-action.com/hempfest-2011

Mosaic Prepares to Bolster Image

Former Jeb Bush staffer goes to work at Mosaic

Read article here

By Virginia Chamlee | 08.02.11 | 10:58 am

Mark Kaplan, former chief of staff to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, has been announced as the new vice president of public affairs for The Mosaic Company, one of the top dogs in phosphate and nutrient production in the country.

Kaplan previously led Mosaic’s Florida public affairs team. A phosphate mine in South Fort Meade, owned by Mosaic, has been in hot water in recent months. Although the company was initially given the go-ahead from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to strip-mine thousands of acres of Florida wetlands, a lawsuit led a judge to halt production at a 700-acre tract of the mine, over fears that the mining activities were damaging two area watersheds.

The suit, which was brought by environmental groups including the Sierra Club, cost both jobs and money. In July, a U.S. judge extended the injunction, effectively banning the company from expanding production at the mine and pushing its stock down 5.2 percent. Following the injunction, Mosaic execs estimated that the ruling would cost them $200 million in annual costs, because it would have to buy more phosphate rock on the open market. The company has since cut that estimate in half.

Kaplan was appointed to the state’s Board of Education in 2010 by then-Gov. Charlie Crist. He resigned from the board last month.

Mosaic Seeks Phosphate Sources Outside FL

US Mosaic Seeks New Sources of Phosphate as Litigation Continues
http://www.icis.com/Articles/2011/07/19/9478675/corrected-us-mosaic-seeks-new-sources-of-phosphate-as-litigation-continues.html
HOUSTON (ICIS)–US fertilizer company Mosaic will continue to look for ways to get more out of existing mines and find new sources of phosphate to make up for the deficit created by ongoing litigation related to its South Fort Meade mine in Florida, the company said on Tuesday.
The South Fort Meade mine is one of the largest phosphate mines in the world, producing about 6m tonnes/year of the fertilizer. It represents a third of Mosaic’s phosphate production, as well as 4% of the world’s production.
A US district judge recently ordered Mosaic to stop all operations at the mine. At issue is Mosaic’s permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers to expand the mine.
“Our first opportunity is to look at our other operations and maximise output from them,” said James O’Rourke, executive vice president of operations, during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call.

For example, a debottlenecking project at Mosaic’s Four Corners mine in Florida has produced 20% more phosphate.
In addition, Mosaic will get about 1m tonnes of phosphate from its Miski Mayo joint venture in Peru, which the company plans to expand.
Mosaic CEO Jim Prokopanko said they are also continually evaluating future mine sites.
“There’s not a deposit in the world we are not aware of,” he said. “Every week it seems we get a proposal asking us to look at this deposit or that deposit.”
For more on Mosaic visit ICIS company intelligence

By: Bobbie Clark
+1 713 525 2653

Mosaic Cuts Losses on S. Ft. Meade Mine Shut-Down

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/19/mosaic-idUSN1E76I0OO20110719

* Previously forecast higher costs of $200 million
* Expects ruling on injunction appeal by the fall
* Mosaic shares up 4 percent in midday trading (Adds executive quotes, byline; updates stock)
By Ernest Scheyder
NEW YORK, July 19 (Reuters) – Mosaic Co (MOS.N) has cut in half the estimated cost of a judge’s ruling that keeps the fertilizer producer from expanding a Florida phosphate mine.
Last week a U.S. judge extended an injunction that keeps Mosaic from expanding production at its South Fort Meade, Fla., mine. [ID:nL3E7IB1V6]
Just after the ruling was issued, Mosaic said it could increase its annual costs by $200 million as it would need to buy more phosphate rock on the open market.
On a conference call with investors on Tuesday to discuss the company’s quarterly earnings, Mosaic executives said the damage could now be $100 million due to excess phosphate capacity they have found at other Mosaic mines.
“The analysis that we’ve gone through suggests that we are going to be able to mitigate more of the impact than we first thought possible,” Larry Stranghoener, Mosaic’s chief financial officer, said on the conference call. “We believe we can significantly mitigate what otherwise might have been a worst-case situation in terms of purchased rock.”
Mosaic processes mined phosphate rock into pebble and fine phosphate, which are turned into diammonium phosphate, or DAP. That is what farmers use in their fields.
Effectively, Mosaic’s mining operation sells phosphate rock to its fertilizer production operation. If its own supply were dented, Mosaic would have to buy from competitors, a situation executives would like to avoid.
Mosaic has asked a higher U.S. court to cancel the injunction, though the company does not expect a ruling until the fall.
The South Fort Meade, Fla., mine has about 15 years of phosphate reserves and produces 6.5 million tons of the fertilizer each year. That represents a third of Mosaic’s yearly phosphate capacity and 4 percent of the world’s.
Shares of Mosaic were up 4.0 percent to $69.12 in midday trading on Tuesday. On Monday the company reported earnings that beat expectations. [ID:nN1E76H1LJ] (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

EPA, GOP In ‘Head-To-Head’ Fight Over Residential Radiation Standard

EPA, GOP In ‘Head-To-Head’ Fight Over Residential Radiation Standard
Posted: July 8, 2011
A group of Republican congressmen from Florida are battling EPA over whether the agency should survey parts of the state where it fears tens of thousands of people living on former phosphate mines may be exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, with the lawmakers challenging EPA’s long-held cleanup standard for radioactive contamination in residential areas.
According to one congressional staffer, the Republican congressmen and EPA’s administrator are in a “head to head” fight over the surveys, even as EPA is considering using them more widely.
At issue are approximately 10 square miles of former phosphate mining lands near Lakeland, FL, where EPA has taken no cleanup action despite having had concerns since the late 1970s that the indoor air of homes built on the lands is contaminated with cancer-causing levels of radiation. EPA’s concerns, made public by an award-winning series of Inside EPA articles in 2010, have prompted a negative reaction from the Republican congressmen, who believe the agency’s fears are overblown.
In February the lawmakers, who include Reps. Dennis Ross, Gus Bilirakis, Vern Buchanan, Richard Nugent and Thomas Rooney, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson in which they take issue with EPA having recently conducted a preliminary aerial survey near the area in question, according to the letter, which Inside EPA recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The survey is considered to be a key early step in a possible cleanup process (Superfund Report, Feb. 7).
In the letter, the lawmakers call EPA’s long-held standard for cleaning up radioactive contamination in residential areas “arbitrary” and claim that past studies by the Florida Department of Health found no health risks in the area. Relevant documents are available on InsideEPA.com. (Doc ID: 2369534)
In a May response letter to the congressmen, EPA waste chief Mathy Stanislaus does not directly address the lawmakers’ challenge to the agency’s cleanup standard. But he defends EPA’s use of aerial surveys and does not offer to halt such surveys or notify the lawmakers prior to conducting them in the future, as the lawmakers demand in their letter.
Stanislaus offers to meet with the congressmen, but according to an EPA spokeswoman, no such meeting has been scheduled.
According to a spokesman for Ross, the congressmen are “still in a head-to-head fight with [EPA Administrator] Lisa Jackson about getting notification on flyovers, let alone having them brought to a halt.” Spokesmen for the other lawmakers could not be reached for comment.
Stanislaus says that the limited survey EPA conducted earlier this year “contributed valuable information to the agencies as plans for a larger-scale survey were considered . . . Based on this information, EPA is considering a larger-scale aerial survey to collect data related to phosphate mining sites and background areas.”
He adds that it “is important to note that conducting an aerial survey is not necessarily an indicator of a concern or a need for remedial action. Surveys are also useful tools for confirming areas that are not considered to pose potential health or ecological risks.”
According to the EPA spokeswoman, EPA has not yet made a final decision on how to proceed with such surveys.
The EPA standard, which the agency has used as the basis for radiological cleanups near residential areas throughout the country, has long been a source of contention between EPA, Florida and phosphate mining industry officials. The disagreement is one of the main reasons why the agency has yet to act on its concerns about human exposure in the area (Superfund Report, Jan. 25, 2010).
The standard, which comes from EPA’s regulations under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA), dictates that radium-226 concentrations in soil — which are often elevated on land that has been mined for phosphate — should not exceed 5 picocuries per gram (pCi/g) above what naturally occurs in the area. EPA has long relied on the standard as an applicable or relevant and appropriate requirement (ARAR) under Superfund law for radioactive cleanups near residential areas around the country.
But Florida officials have argued that no cleanup is necessary unless people are being exposed to more than 500 millirem (mrem) of radiation per year, a suggestion that some environmentalists fear could set a dangerous precedent given that EPA has historically considered exposures above 15 mrem to be unsafe.
In their February letter, the congressmen claim that the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) “in reviewing the [EPA] standard, stated [it] could be set two orders of magnitude higher and still be protective of human health.”
But while ATSDR in documents previously obtained by Inside EPA suggests that it would be satisfied with a 100 mrem standard, the agency in the documents says it does not object to EPA relying on its traditional ARAR, to which the congressmen and state officials are opposed.
In addition, ATSDR says in the documents that it agrees with EPA that aerial surveys of the area are necessary.
But in their letter, the Republican congressmen call such surveys “an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars. Furthermore, the arbitrary standard advocated by the EPA creates a significant risk of placing an unjustified and permanent stigma over thousands of acres of land in [our] district[s].
“Florida’s real estate market is already under significant duress as a result of the economic downturn in our own state,” the lawmakers add. “These potential actions by the EPA stand to impede Florida’s recovery without any basis in human health risks.”
According to documents Inside EPA previously obtained under FOIA, many of the areas EPA is concerned with are occupied by wealthy, up-scale residential developments and resorts. But according to more recent documents, EPA is also concerned that some of the potentially affected areas could be low-income or minority communities, creating environmental justice concerns. — Douglas P. Guarino
© 2000-2011. Inside Washington Publishers
—
Douglas P. Guarino
Associate Editor
Inside Washington Publishers
(Inside EPA’s Superfund Report)
1919 South Eads Street, Suite 201
Arlington, VA 22202
703-416-8518
fax:703-416-8543
mailto:[email protected]

3PR News: Conflict of Interest with Army Corps’ AEIS Contractor

Originally posted on the Bradenton Times: www.thebradentontimes.com.

Ecology Party Alleges Major Conflict of Interest with Army Corps of Engineers’ Phosphate Mining EIS Contractor

The Bradenton Times
Published Saturday, April 30, 2011 2:00 am
by Ecology Party of Florida

JACKSONVILLE – The Ecology Party of Florida has discovered a direct conflict of interest with CH2M Hill, the engineering firm awarded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) contract for preparing the Areawide Environmental Impact Statement (AEIS) of phosphate mining. The AEIS is supposed to determine all of the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of phosphate mining in Florida, including groundwater pirated from the Everglades watershed by the phosphate mining companies.

One of the adverse impacts of phosphate mining is that a hazardous form of fluoride is produced as one of the mining by-products. Instead of properly disposing of this hazardous waste, phosphate mining companies such as Mosaic, one of the companies with mines being evaluated under the AEIS, “dispose” of the hazardous fluoride by selling it to be dumped into municipal water systems throughout the US as fluoridation of our tap water.

“While preparing comments for the Army Corps’ initial public comment period regarding issues to be addressed in the AEIS we discovered that the Army privatized its water and wastewater systems at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in 2007 in a 50-year deal with CH2M Hill. In that deal CH2M Hill produces fluoridated water for the Army’s 101st Airborne Division and any other military personnel at Fort Campbell,” says Cara Campbell, Chair of the Ecology Party of Florida.

“That arrangement means CH2M Hill is using the Army as a lucrative market for the hazardous fluoride produced by the mining companies that the Army Corps hired CH2M Hill to evaluate in the AEIS,” Campbell explained. “If that sounds convoluted, that’s because it is, and in our opinion, that conflict of interest makes it impossible for CH2M Hill to produce an unbiased AEIS. Therefore, we have requested that the Army Corps select another contractor to administer the AEIS,” says Campbell.

Ecology Party Treasurer Gary Hecker adds, “In addition to that conflict of interest, CH2M Hill also is the contractor for water utilities in Florida, like the City of Cocoa, that fluoridate municipal water, then dispose of that fluoridated water into our streams, lakes and coastal waters or inject it into our aquifer. CH2M Hill, for example, was contracted by Miami-Dade to inject fluoridated sewage effluent into the aquifer. The corporation also has been awarded contracts for designing, modeling, constructing and/or monitoring engineered approaches marketed as “alternative” water supplies such as “aquifer storage and recovery” (ASR) and excavated pits known as “reservoirs” in areas of Florida where natural water resources have been depleted or contaminated by mining, such as the Tampa Bay area “reservoir” which is located in the phosphate mining area. Clearly these additional conflicts further underscore the impossibility of having such a company evaluate mining impacts in an unbiased way.”

Information regarding the AEIS for phosphate mining is posted at: www.PhospateAEIS.org

Mosaic Suspends LA Operations

May 10, 2011 5:07 PM ET
PLYMOUTH, Minn., May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The Mosaic Company MOS today announced it will temporarily shut down its Louisiana operations due to the impact of the Mississippi River flooding on its electrical power supplies. Operations will resume when river water levels recede and conditions permit. The Company also noted that its ammonia plant at this location is temporarily idled for repairs following a recent incident.
Mosaic’s Louisiana operations include Faustina, which produces diammonium phosphate and ammonia, and its Uncle Sam facility, which produces phosphoric, sulfuric and fluosilicic acid.
These matters are not expected to have a material impact on Mosaic’s operations or financial results.

3PR News: UF Researchers Extract P from H2O

http://news.ufl.edu/2011/05/11/water-purification/

UF researchers develop method to remove phosphate from water, using biochar

Filed under Environment, Florida, Research on Wednesday, May 11, 2011.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Phosphate poses one of Florida’s ongoing water-quality challenges but a process developed by University of Florida researchers could provide an affordable solution, using partially burned organic matter called biochar to remove the mineral.

The process also yields methane gas usable as fuel and phosphate-laden carbon suitable for enriching soil, according to Bin Gao and Pratap Pullammanappallil, assistant professors in UF’s agricultural and biological engineering department, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Crop wastes would provide raw material for the biochar.

A laboratory study demonstrating the effectiveness of biochar for phosphate removal appears in the current issue of the journal Bioresource Technology.

The study involved beet tailings, which are culled beets, scraps and weeds removed from shipments of sugar beets destined for processing to make sugar, said Gao, one of the authors. In the U.S., sugar beets are grown primarily in the Northeast and upper Midwest, but the technology can be adapted to other materials, he said. “It’s really sustainable,” Gao said. “We will see if it can be commercialized.”

UF has filed a patent application for the phosphate-removal process, Gao said. Wastewater treatment facility representatives have shown interest in the technology, he said.

Phosphate is used to make fertilizers, pesticides and detergents. Florida produces about one-fourth of the world’s phosphate. Florida’s surface waters sometimes contain large amounts of phosphate, arising from natural sources or human activity. Because the chemical can spur algae growth, it has caused water-quality concerns in some communities.

Some water treatment plants filter phosphate from wastewater but existing methods have drawbacks, including high cost, low efficiency and hazardous byproducts.

In the study, researchers started by collecting solid residues left after beet tailings were fermented in a device called an anaerobic digester, which yields methane gas. The material was baked at about 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit to make biochar.

The biochar was added to a water-and-phosphate solution and mixed for 24 hours. It removed about three-fourths of the phosphate, much better results than researchers obtained with other compounds, including commercial water-treatment materials. The phosphate-laden biochar can be applied directly to soils as a slow-release fertilizer. The research team plans to investigate whether biochar could remove nitrogen from wastewater. Nitrogen can stimulate algae growth in surface water.

The research team has also been testing the potential for biochar to purify water of heavy metals including lead and copper, he said. Part of the challenge involves pinpointing raw materials with the greatest affinity for a particular contaminant. And used biochar packed with toxic metals would have to be regenerated or handled as hazardous waste.

Previous UF studies have demonstrated the potential value of producing methane gas by fermenting crop waste. Pullammanappallil specializes in this area and regularly collaborates with Gao on biochar studies.

Perhaps the biggest challenge researchers face is making biomass technology more cost-effective. Pullammanappallil recently helped design, build and operate an anaerobic digester at an American Crystal Sugar Company facility in Moorhead, Minn.

The digester processed beet tailings like those used in the study, and worked well, said Dave Malmskog, the company’s business development director at Moorhead. But when the research grant funding the project ended, the company found it wasn’t practical to continue.

Nonetheless, the researchers remain optimistic that the process can be made cost-effective.

“Florida agricultural industries could benefit,” Pullammanappallil said. “You could do this with any biomass — sugarcane bagasse, citrus pulp.”

Writer Tom Nordlie, [email protected] ,352-273-3567
Source Bin Gao, [email protected], 352-392-1864 ext. 285
Source Pratap Pullammanappallil, [email protected], 352-392-1864 ext. 203

3PR News: CF Industries: “We think we’re a great environmental citizen…”

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) – Fertilizer producer CF Industries Holdings Inc (CF.N) has benefited from rival Mosaic’s (MOS.N) legal troubles at a Florida phosphate mine expansion, CF’s CEO said on Tuesday.
Last summer, the Sierra Club environmental group sued to stop Mosaic from expanding phosphate rock production at its mine in South Fort Meade, Florida. The group claims the surface mining process damages the Florida watershed. CF, which operates a nearby mine, has so far been spared the legal scrutiny mostly because it has not yet aggressively pursued permits to expand production. “The biggest advantage that we have is that Mosaic went first,” CF CEO Steve Wilson said at the BMO Capital Markets Farm to Market Conference in New York. “We empathize with what they’re dealing with.

CF has begun the paperwork needed to expand its phosphate capacity by nine to 10 years’ worth of supply, Wilson said.He told Reuters he would talk with any interested party, including the Sierra Club. He acknowledged the mine expansion would be a “difficult task.” “We think we’re a great environmental citizen,” he said. “But this will take time.”Separately, Wilson said CF has no plans to build a nitrogen fertilizer plant in the United States due to concerns over carbon legislation.
“The economics in the U.S. are very favorable, but the specter of regulation of carbon looms over us,” Wilson said. “We don’t have certainty.”The production of ammonia, a key part of the nitrogen fertilizer process, produces large amounts of carbon dioxide.

The company’s facility in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, on the Mississippi River about 64 miles west of New Orleans, is operating fine, Wilson said. That is because when the facility was being built, an engineer installed the facility’s electric supply well above a dike that holds back the river, he said. Shares of CF, which is based in a Chicago suburb, rose 4.4 percent to close Tuesday at $140.19. The stock has traded between $57.57 and $153.83 in the past 52 weeks.