Farms, the Ocean

and Algae
A Sustainable Approach

Fertility from the Oceans

Contact the Author

Mike Withrow

nanomato@gmail.com

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Fertilizing Farmland from the Ocean

Dr. John Church, Assistant Professor at Thompson River University in Kamloops BC

and Chair of the BC Regional Innovation BC Cattle Industry for Sustainability, comes
from a family with a deep history in farming. This goes back to early days in
Saskatchewan where his father’s father plowed the once rich farm land for crops. He
speaks of a time when his father told him about how the seagulls used to follow the
tractors. This is a rare occurrence today in Saskatchewan but can still be see closer to
the ocean in BC.

Plowing a Field in Fraser Valley, BC Canada

Seagulls gather to prey on insects and worms revealed as a farmer plows a

field on a farm in the Fraser Valley. British Columbia, Canada.

Today, valuable farmland around the world is being depleted of of its once rich
nutrients. Currently the only solution to replenish these lands is to dig up Potash and
move it to where it is needed. This does not seem like a sustainable solution.

Global Potash Market

The potash market has been experiencing a rapid growth in the last decade primarily
due to more demand for food, fiber and feed. This trend has been reinforced by

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increased demand for biofuels.

The current potash market is estimated at 50 million tons annually, and is projected to
grow at a rate of 3-4%.

Potash is used in 150 countries while only 12 countries produce it. The main producing
countries are Canada, Belarus, Russia, Israel and Jordan. The United States that
produces only 1,200,000 tonnes a year consumes 5,200,000 tonnes, thus, being one of
the largest net importers of potash in the world after China, India and Brazil. The total
global potash mine production in 2006 reached 30 million tonnes. Saskatchewan is the
largest potash production centre in the world. Several factors contribute to the
increasing use of potash in the world:

Rising World Population

The world's population has been steadily growing at an increasing pace in the second
half of the 20th century and is expected to reach almost 10 billion people by 2050.

A rising population consumes more food. In order to meet the increase in demand,
farmers need to increase the quantity and quality of their crop yields. Improving the
quality of their fertilizers is the most efficient and realistic way to do this.

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Increasing Wealth - Better Diets

The world economy has been expanding at average of 5% per year. However, the
economies of the developing nations, especially of large countries such as India and
China have been growing at a rate of 9% and 10% annually. An expanding economy
means rising wealth level in these countries. With the increasing income, people
significantly improve their diets, especially the intake of meat, which is rich in protein.
The meat consumption in China, for example, tripled in the last 20 years to 70 million
tonnes, and is expected to grow further.

Thus, the feed for animals becomes an important factor. And again potash serves as a
key ingredient to improve the quantity and quality of feed for livestock.

Higher Oil Prices, Environmental Concerns and Drive for Alternative Fuels - New
Demand for Potash (Fertilizer)

In recent years, crops such as corn and sugar cane have found new applications, in the
production of biofuels. High oil prices, increasing concerns about carbon emissions and
subsequent drive to use more alternative fuels has led to the boom in the ethanol and
biodiesel use as alternative energy sources. These biofuels are produced from crops
such as sugar cane, corn, oil palm, soybeans etc. As of April 2009 potash prices
reached $1,000 per ton!

To increase the yield of these crops from the ever decreasing amount of
agricultural lands requires more use of fertilizers. Also, this new demand for
crops puts an upward pressure on crop prices. This directly increases the
demand for potash “Fertilizer”.

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Decreasing Available Arable (Fertile) Land

The soaring global population exerts another pressure point. All these new people have
to live somewhere. As the cities and the suburbs continue to sprawl, there's less arable
[fertile] land to grow food on.

Of the earth's 57 million square miles of land, approximately 8 million square miles are
currently arable. However, arable land is being lost at the rate of about 40,000 square
miles a year. A major element of arable land loss comes from deforestation.

The end result of all this is that the remaining farm land needs to be more productive.
And there is only one way this can be accomplished: with fertilizer. And until now there
has been no substitute for potash in fertilizer. Canadian Pacific Algae Inc. captures
Algae in Seawater and grows it to an optimum level which produces an excellent
fertilizer.

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Uses of Potash

Potash has three main uses: fertilizer, livestock feed supplements and industrial
processes. 95% of world's potash is used in fertilizers, while the rest is used for feed
supplements and industrial production.

Potash is a key ingredient in fertilizers that enhances water retention of plants,

increases crop yields and plants' disease resistance. In feed supplements, the key
function of potash is to contribute to animal growth and milk production.

Functions of Potash

Potassium fulfills numerous vital functions in various processes in plants, animals and
humans. For adequate nutrient supply of potassium, soil reserves are essentially
required, which commonly contain more potassium than any other nutrient, including
nitrogen.

For an adult human being, approximately 2 grams of potassium (K) is required per day,
even though a typical person will take in 2.8-4.5 grams/day. There is no health risks
associated with potassium. The rich sources of this nutrient in human diet are milk, fruit
juice, root vegetables and bananas.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are three of the most essential nutrients that a
plant needs to grow. Potash plays an important role in helping plants to absorb
potassium required to thrive.

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The price of Potash continues to rise as world demand increases. This demand will
continue for reasons explained earlier in the Global Potash Market section of this
document.

There are no known substitutes for potash.... Until NOW!

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Algae, a Backgrounder

It is estimated that between 70% and 80% of the oxygen in the atmosphere is produced
by marine plants . Nearly all marine plants are single celled, photosynthetic algae. Even
marine seaweed is many times colonial algae. They are a bunch of single cells trying to
look like a big plant (see seaweed photo), but they are really individuals.

We need marine algae. 70% to 80% of all the oxygen we breathe comes from algae.
Without them we would be nearing the end of our existence. It is popular belief the trees
and other land plants our what produce our oxygen. Well, trees and other land plants
are very important, no doubt about it. But for pure survival, we couldn't make it without
algae.

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 Seaweed are not plants, but are algae. Not only does algae
provide much of the Earth's oxygen, they also are the base for
almost all marine life. Green algae (pictured) gets its color
from chlorophyll and exists on or near the surface where there
is plenty of sunlight. Green algae is not as common in the
ocean as brown and red seaweed. It is also more closely
related to land plants than any other type of algae.

Why does so much of our oxygen come from algae? Well, first of all, remember that the
oceans cover about 71% of this planet and land is only about 29%. If we assume that
every square mile of the ocean produces as much oxygen as every square mile of land,
then this makes sense. The oceans would produce about 71% and the land 29% of the
oxygen we breathe. Looks like we are in the ballpark don't you think?

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An Image From NASA

Marine algae exists in different concentrations throughout the world's

oceans, depending on the amount of nutrients that are available. The
colder the surface waters, the more these essential nutrients -- like iron -
- can flourish and support phytoplankton , which are microscopic algae.
The above image indicates relative concentrations of marine algae
throughout the world's oceans, with the highest concentrations in red
and orange, and the smallest concentrations in dark blue and purple.
(Image: NASA - SeaWiFS)

Now the question is, "Are the oceans, indeed, as productive as the land?" At first you
might not think so, after all when you look at the land there are trees and bushes and
grass and all kinds of plants growing. They must crank out oxygen. They do, but also
remember that there are many places on land that don't have much in the way of plants.
How about Antarctica or the Sahara Desert along with many others? These are pretty
good sized chunks of real estate where plants are few and far between. How much
oxygen is being pumped out in these areas?

I would venture to say there's not enough to keep a pack of wild hamsters (ever seen
wild hamsters?) going for very long. So, some areas on land have an abundance of
plants and produce a large quantity of oxygen while others have very few plants and
produce very little.

The same can be said for the oceans. There are some areas that have an abundance of
algae living in the waters and other areas that don't. In the ocean there are areas of
upwelling where cold, nutrient rich bottom water moves toward the surface. These
upwelling waters mix with the surface water and produce an area that is like liquid
fertilizer for plants. They go ballistic and there are billions of the little critters in the water
just pumping out oxygen left and right. Other areas of the oceans don't have much in
the way of nutrients in the water and they are like the deserts on land with very few
plants.

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Overall, the production of oxygen in the oceans is at least equal to the production on
land if not a bit more. Plants on land are easy to spot. Plants in the ocean are a bit more
difficult to see since they are single cells floating in the water. Even though you may not
see them, they are there. Remember, these little cells go down to over 300 feet below
the surface so they have lots of room to spread out.

Plants on land and in the ocean are extremely important to us and we wouldn't be here
without them. Land plants provide us (and other critters) with food, raw materials like
wood, and fiber to make cloth and paper. They protect the land from erosion with their
roots, provide beauty and shade on a hot day, and produce oxygen as an extra added
bonus although we could probably survive with the oxygen.

Marine plants are also used as food, but we tend to forget about them because they are
so small and difficult to see.

Phytoplankton are tiny microscopic plants - algae - that form

the base of the marine food chain. Phytoplankton is most
abundant in colder waters where there is an abundance of
nutrients.

Much of what is provided through fertigation and the use of natural and organic products
involves our oceans. Dr. Maynard Murray suggested over 30 years ago, that ocean
water contains a concentrated perfect balance of trace minerals in bioavailable form.
Charles Walters, a leading naturalist, primarily in the field of agriculture, examines
Murray’s theories and concurs in a book titled, “Fertility from the Ocean Deep.” The
book provides amazing successes experienced by growers who have used his methods
and outlines experiments and resulting technology currently accessible today. Obvious
beneficial conclusions can be drawn from the hard data obtained in the field which
conclusively demonstrates that sea-solids fertilization produces stress resistant plants,
foods with ‘naturally’ extended shelf life and vastly increased nutritional levels!
A companion study I also found in “Sea Energy Agriculture” by Dr. Murray. In this book,
Murray researched the critical importance of minerals—especially trace elements—to
plants and animals. Murray used sea solids—mineral salts remaining after water is
evaporated from ocean water—as fertilizer on trials for a variety of vegetables, grains,
and fruit. Overwhelming evidence supports the findings that plants fertilized with sea
solids had increased health, nutritional content and exceptionally more insect and
disease resistance.

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Lab Analysis

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Financial Opportunity

Canadian Pacific Algae is the only company in the world who can offer a sustainable
solution to fertilize the worlds farm lands. The fertile ocean elements are enriched with
phytoplankton using its patent pending technologies.

This is a cost effective solution for each one of our one million liter tanks we can do a
batch of product. Tank every 84 hrs. (maximum).

At the current facility we are able to produce up to 5.7 tones each year (based on 3
shifts 350 days year) of organic fertilizer at a cost of C$280 per ton. We are currently
performing some tests that are indicating that we may be able double this production.
The organic fertilizer is produced in a concentrated 9:1 form and at a selling price of
$500 per ton which is half the price of current potash prices.

This equates to $55 per kilo of fertilizer cost to the farmer. This represents a huge cost
savings to the farmer. In addition the farmer will require 10% less fresh water which is
becoming a more precious resource.

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Fertilizers - Sustaining Global Food Supplies
A fertilizer is a substance applied to soil to enhance its ability to produce plentiful,
healthy plants. Fertilizers are natural and manufactured chemicals containing nutrients
known to improve the fertility of soils. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are the
three most important nutrients for crop growth; some plant scientists think sulfur is also
a major nutrient because of its benefit to plant health and growth. These and other
nutrients (fig. 1) are found naturally in soils. Soils used for agriculture, however, become
depleted in these nutrients and frequently require fertilizing before the soils can be used
successfully again. The most efficient way to produce fertilizer is through mining or
industrial processes.

Fertilizers are increasingly important to improve crop yields needed to feed a growing
world population. The United Nations estimates that the world population will reach 7.7
billion by 2020, an increase of 35 percent from 5.7 billion in 1995. Much of the
population increase will be in developing countries, where food supply and malnutrition
are already serious problems (Pinstrup-Andersen and Cohen, 1998).

Although demand for food will increase as population increases, the area of cultivated
land will not increase significantly. For this reason, methods for improving crop
production must be found to satisfy the nutritional requirements of the expanding
population. The use of fertilizers is one way to increase food supplies.

U.S. Agriculture

The United States is a large producer of fertilizers for domestic use and export. U.S.
farmers are the most productive in the world, providing the foodstuffs to meet domestic
demand, as well as a tremendous quantity of exported goods for the rest of the world.
Planted acreage varies little from year to year in the United States. Agricultural
production is found in every State but is concentrated in the Midwest (fig. 2). Many
different crops are grown in the United States, but more than 80 percent of crop land is
planted in corn, soybeans, and wheat (fig. 3). Because efforts to improve crop yields
have intensified, increased quantities of mineral fertilizers are applied to replace
nutrients depleted from the soil. This is one of the easiest and quickest ways to improve
soil fertility. Research has helped determine nutrient requirements for specific crops (fig.
4).

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Figure 1. Sketch showing how plants require many different elements for optimum
growth. Another essential requirement, which is not shown here, is water. (Graphic
courtesy of the International Fertilizer Industry Association.)

Figure 2. Map showing percent of land area used for crops. Major domestic growing
areas are concentrated in the Midwest. The darker green shades depict the States
where the largest percentages of their land area are used for crop land. Acreage data
published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Figure 4. (Left) A, Chart showing total nutrient requirements for major crops. B, Chart
showing typical fertilizer application rates for major crops. As seen in A, different crops
require different nutrients. Chart B shows the average application rates for typical good
crop yields. Note the small nitrogen application rate for soybeans relative to the other
crops. Soybeans and other legumes are able to obtain their nitrogen requirements from
air. Nutrient requirement data published by the Potash and Phosphate Institute and
application rate data from Mississippi Chemical Corp.

Figure 3. Diagram showing major crops in the United States. A tremendous variety of
crops are grown in the United States. A few types, however, dominate the total area
planted -- corn, soybeans, and wheat occupy more than 80 percent of planted crop
land. Acreage data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nitrogen

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Nitrogen can be produced in several ways. Some plants, such as soybeans and other
legumes, recover nitrogen directly from the atmosphere or from the soil in a process
known as "fixation," whereby the plant converts nitrogen into carbohydrates, essential
amino acids, and proteins. Nitrogen is commercially recovered from the air as ammonia,
which is normally produced by combining nitrogen in the atmosphere with hydrogen
from natural gas. Ammonia is converted to other nitrogen compounds, the most
important of which are urea (NH2CONH2), nitric acid (HNO3), ammonium nitrate
(NH4NO3), and ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4]. With the exception of nitric acid, these
compounds are widely used for fertilizer.
An average of 85 percent of the ammonia produced in the United States is used in
fertilizers. About 11.5 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) of nitrogen in all forms is used
in fertilizers in the United States. Ammonia represents about 32 percent of the total
fertilizer nitrogen used; urea and urea-ammonium nitrate solutions together represent
37 percent; ammonium nitrate, 5 percent; and ammonium sulfate, 2 percent. The
remainder is supplied by multiple-nutrient fertilizers that contain varying quantities of
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
Ammonia is produced in 21 States, but more than one-half of total U.S. ammonia
production capacity is in Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The region has large
reserves of natural gas used in ammonia preparation. The United States is the world's
second largest ammonia producer and consumer following China. An average of 13
Mt/yr of nitrogen as ammonia is produced in the United States. Because this does not
supply all its domestic demand, the United States imports significant quantities of
ammonia -- between 3 and 4 Mt/yr -- primarily from Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, and
Russia. The United States exports less than 1 Mt/yr of ammonia.

Phosphorus

Phosphate rock is the only economical source of phosphorus for manufacturing

phosphatic fertilizers and chemicals. Deposits are widely distributed throughout the
world and are generally mined by using surface mining methods. The United States is
the world's largest producer of phosphate rock, with annual production of about 45 Mt of
marketable rock, accounting for more than 30 percent of total world production. Florida
and North Carolina produce the largest amounts, with a combined 85 percent of the
U.S. output, followed by Idaho and Utah.

Phosphate rock, when used in an untreated form, is not very soluble and provides little
available phosphorus to plants, except in some moist acidic soils. Treating phosphate
rock with sulfuric acid makes phosphoric acid, the basic material for producing most
phosphatic fertilizers. Phosphatic fertilizers include diammonium phosphate (DAP) and
monoammonium phosphate (MAP), which are produced by reacting phosphoric acid
with ammonia, and triple superphosphate, produced by treating phosphate rock with
phosphoric acid. More than 90 percent of the phosphate rock mined in the United States
is used to produce about 12 Mt/yr of phosphoric acid. Domestic consumption of
phosphate in fertilizers has averaged 4.5 Mt/yr since 1994.

The United States supplies most of the phosphate fertilizers in the world. Overall, more

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than 50 percent of the phosphoric acid produced in the United States is exported as
finished fertilizers or commercial acid. The United States accounts for more than 50
percent of global interregional trade in phosphates; 90 percent in MAP; and 75 percent
in DAP. The United States also imports some phosphate rock for processing -- about
1.8 Mt/yr.

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Potassium

Figure 5. Photograph showing a soybean test plot demonstrating

the improved growth obtained with the addition of potash.
Photograph courtesy of the Potash and Phosphate Institute.

Potassium is essential for plant growth; little potassium, however, ends up in the edible
portion of the plant (fig. 5). Potassium helps facilitate sugar movement through plants,
and boosts resistance to stresses such as drought and disease.
Potassium is found in potash, a term that includes various mined and manufactured
salts; all contain potassium in a water-soluble form. Potash is produced at underground
mines, from solution-mining operations, and through the evaporation of lake and
subsurface brines. Minerals mined for potash include potassium chloride [KCl or muriate
of potash (MOP)], potassium-magnesium sulfate [K2SO4·MgSO4 or sulfate of potash
magnesia (SOPM)], or mixed sodium-potassium nitrate (NaNO3+KNO3 or Chilean
saltpeter). Manufactured compounds are potassium sulfate [K2SO4 or sulfate of potash
(SOP)] and potassium nitrate (KNO3 or saltpeter).
The United States produces about 3 Mt/yr of potash, mostly in New Mexico. About 1 Mt
of that production is exported. About 8 Mt is imported by the United States every year,
primarily from Canada, the largest potash producer in the world. The United States
consumes about 11 Mt/yr tons of potash of all types and grades. About 95 percent of
this is used for agricultural purposes.

Sulfur

Sulfur is significant to agriculture in two ways -- as a plant nutrient and for its importance
to the processing of phosphate rock into phosphate fertilizers. In the past 20 years,
sulfur has been increasingly recognized as an essential ingredient for plant nutrition

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because it is a component of amino acids, proteins, fats, and other compounds found in
plants. The increased use of fertilizers that contain little or no sulfur and the decrease in
atmospheric sulfur deposition from industrial emissions have resulted in lower soil sulfur
content and increasing soil sulfur deficiencies worldwide. Sulfur for plant nutrition can be
applied directly as elemental sulfur, sulfur-bentonite mixes, ammonium sulfate,
potassium sulfate, or superphosphates.

Nearly 60 percent of all sulfur consumption is in the production of phosphate fertilizers.

Nearly 10 percent of additional consumption is used in other agricultural applications,
including the production of nitrogenous fertilizers and plant nutrient sulfur.
The largest sources of elemental sulfur are petroleum refining and natural gas
processing at numerous facilities throughout the United States. Elemental sulfur is
mined at a few locations worldwide. Smaller quantities of sulfur are recovered as
sulfuric acid at nonferrous metal smelters, and minor amounts are recovered at coking
operations. Between 11 and 12 Mt/yr of domestic sulfur in all forms are produced. The
United States imports about 3 Mt/yr of sulfur as elemental sulfur and sulfuric acid.
Exports total less than 1 Mt/yr. The majority of U.S. imports come from Canada, the
largest sulfur exporter in the world. Annual apparent consumption is almost 14 Mt.

Issues Facing the Industy

Government Agricultural Programs

Federal Government programs that could affect the fertilizer industry are the Federal
Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) of 1996 and the Conservation Reserve
Program (CRP), revised in 1997. FAIR made significant changes in long-standing U.S.
agricultural policies. The provision in FAIR that may have the greatest impact on
domestic fertilizer consumption is the elimination of most acreage-use restrictions,
which determine what crops farmers must plant to participate in price-support programs.
Farmers now may determine what crops to plant on the basis of market conditions,
which may alter fertilizer consumption because of the differing nutrient requirements for
different crops. Other changes to the financial details of the farm programs may affect
the farmers' ability to purchase fertilizers (Nelson and Schertz, 1996).

The CRP, the Federal Government's largest environmental improvement program, is a

voluntary program designed to decrease topsoil erosion, increase wildlife habitat, and
protect ground and surface waters by reducing runoff and sedimentation. The program
provides incentives to encourage farmers to plant permanent covers of grass and trees
where vegetation can prevent erosion, improve water quality, and provide food and
habitat for wildlife. The goal is to remove the most vulnerable acreage from agricultural
production, limiting planted acres and thus fertilizer consumption in these areas (Farm
Service Agency Online, April 26, 1999, Conservation Reserve Plan, accessed April 27,
1999, at URL http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crp/ pubs.htm).

Technological Developments

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Research is constantly being conducted to improve crop yields and the efficiency of
fertilizer usage (fig. 5). Precision agriculture uses Global Positioning System technology,
intensive soil testing, and computer-controlled fertilizer application equipment to
determine nutrient requirements and to apply precisely those materials as determined
by the data. This reduces excess application of fertilizers and minimizes nutrient
deficiencies that may be neglected in a less rigorous fertilizer application plan.
Genetic research has developed crop varieties that increase yields without requiring
comparable increases in fertilizer requirements. New strains of crops also are being
developed that are resistant to insects and specific herbicides and have increased
nutritional value for people or animals.

Environmental Concerns

In addition to environmental concerns typically associated with mining and industrial

activities, the agriculture industry faces issues specific to fertilizer usage.
Overfertilization and the subsequent runoff of excess fertilizer may contribute to nitrogen
accumulation in watersheds. As part of its mission, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
is assessing the Mississippi River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds for nitrogen
concentration and determining the sources of the nitrogen.

One possible effect of too much fertilizer entering bodies of water is hypoxia. Hypoxia
affects water near the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico along the Louisiana-Texas coast
where dissolved oxygen can be less than 2 parts per million. Hypoxia can cause stress
or death in bottom-dwelling organisms that cannot move out of the hypoxic zone. The
amount of fertilizer entering the Gulf can be determined by examining data from the
USGS streamflow and water-quality monitoring stations throughout the Mississippi River
basin. USGS scientists, as members of the Committee on Environment and Natural
Resources of the National Science and Technology Council, are analyzing current and
historic data from these stations to understand better the causes and consequences of
hypoxia in the Gulf. Specifically, the USGS, through its Toxics and National Stream
Quality Accounting Network programs, is addressing two issues: (1) the loads and
sources of nutrients delivered to the Gulf of Mexico, and (2) the relative importance of
specific human activities such as agriculture, atmospheric deposition, and point-source
discharges in contributing these nutrients (U.S. Geological Survey, December 18, 1998,
Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, accessed May 4, 1999 at URL
http://www.rcolka.cr.usgs.gov/ midconherb/hypoxia.html).

The USGS, in cooperation with the Maryland Department of the Environment, the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and the Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality, is also studying the amount of nutrient pollution that enters the
Chesapeake Bay each year from its major tributaries. Results of the study are used to
determine whether steps taken to reduce the amount of pollution entering the bay are
working (Zynjuk, 1995).
Excessive phosphorus runoff has long been recognized as associated with
eutrophication of lakes and other nonflowing bodies of water. Eutrophication is the
response of a body of water to enrichment by nutrients. The results include heavy

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growth of aquatic plants and algal mats and deoxygenation. Although industrial and
sewage discharges of phosphate have been reduced greatly during the past 25 years,
eutrophication remains a major environmental issue. Most phosphorus enters bodies of
water through soil erosion from agricultural lands. Improved planting methods, fertilizer
management, and soil conservation techniques are being used to reduce phosphorus
runoff (Potash and Phosphate Institute, 1999).
Fertilizer production also is an environmental concern. For every ton of phosphoric acid
produced, five tons of phosphogypsum are generated. Phosphogypsum is a solid
material that results from the reaction of phosphate rock with sulfuric acid. Although it is
nearly identical to natural gypsum, it may contain small amounts of sand, phosphate,
fluorine, radium, and other elements present in phosphate ore. Federal regulations
restrict both use and research involving phosphogypsum because of its radium content
and require phosphogypsum to be stacked on the ground. A limited amount of
phosphogypsum, with a minimal radium content, is used as an agricultural soil
amendment. During the past 50 years, more than 700 Mt have accumulated in Florida
alone. These enormous stacks, some covering an area of more than 300 hectares and
up to 60 meters high, have settling ponds on top that contain highly acidic water that
can overflow into waterways. New regulations have been enacted to guard against
potential spills (Johnson and Traub, 1996).

References Cited

Johnson, J.R., and Traub, R.J., 1996, Risk estimates for uses of phosphogypsum --
Final report: Batelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, prepared for Florida Institute of
Phosphate Research, Bartow, Fla., 17 p.
Nelson, F.J., and Schertz, L.P., eds., 1996, Provisions of the Federal Agriculture
Improvement Act of 1996: U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 729, 147 p.
Pinstrup-Andersen, Per, and Cohen, M.J., 1998, The role of fertilizer in future world
security, in Fertilizer Industry Round Table, 48th, Annapolis, Md., October 26-28, 1998,
Proceedings: Glen Arm, Md., The Fertilizer Industry Round Table, p. 1-19.
Potash and Phosphate Institute, 1999, Phosphorus and the environment: Better Crops
with Plant Food, v. 83, no. 1, p. 37-39.
Zynjuk, L.D., 1995, Chesapeake Bay -- Measuring nutrient pollution: U.S. Geological
Survey Fact Sheet FS-055-95, 2 p.

-- Stephen M. Jasinski, Deborah A. Kramer, Joyce A. Ober, James P. Searls

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