But they never foresaw that the processes they helped developed (my grandfather's name is on the patent for the refining process) would lead to this. I left Polk County partly because the places I went horseback riding in as a child no longer existed - the swampy trail lined with cypress trees I rode down was mined then "reclaimed" into square lakes that now have housing developments around them.
In the 1960s my father was hired by the Atomic Energy Commission to evaluate if the radioactive materials in the phosphate waste materials could be economically extracted. At the time he had improved on his father's process enough that Sand Mountain, a huge waste pile south of Fort Meade, was reprocessed to take more phosphate out of the waste. The AEC was hoping that at the same time they could get the radioactives out. It must not have been economically possible since it never happened. For many years my father would not let us talk about the AEC men that came to discuss it with him.
In the 1980s or 90s, there was a bit of a stir - many of the concrete block houses in Polk County had been built with blocks made from sand that was waste from the phosphate mines. In testing for radon gas it was found that the concrete blocks were increasing the background radiation in those houses. Eventually the upset went away since the level of radiation was not that high. Dad always said it was not worth worrying about.
I'm sorry to know the role my family had in this mess.
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