Fire causes $200,000 damage at Florida plant

Lakeland, Fla-A fire at the Florida Favorite Fertilizers plant at Lakeland caused an estimated $200,000 in damage on Oct. 16, according to an article in The Ledger, the daily newspaper in Lakeland. The cause of the blaze was believed to have been from heat generated by treated sewage sludge. The plant was bought earlier this year by Wedgworth’s Inc. of Belle Glade, and was expected to have gone back into operation late last week. The plant, which was built in 1921 and has had several owners, was declared a Superfund Site in 2000, after high concentrations of lead, arsenic, and toxaphene were found on the property and in a nearby ditch. That resulted in a cleanup of 4,750 tons of contaminated soil.