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White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus, or simply tetraphosphorus (P 4) is an allotrope of phosphorus. It is a translucent waxy solid that quickly yellows in light (due to its photochemical conversion into red phosphorus ), [ 2 ] and impure white phosphorus is for this reason called yellow phosphorus.
The highest-grade deposits were found where weathering or shallow groundwater had preferentially dissolved away the calcium carbonate. The last mine in Tennessee, which produced phosphate rock from the Bigby-Cannon formation, closed in 1991. The blue phosphate rock was found in the Devonian-age Chattanooga Shale.
The Bone Valley is a region of central Florida, encompassing portions of present-day Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Polk counties, in which phosphate is mined for use in the production of agricultural fertilizer. Florida currently contains the largest known deposits of phosphate in the United States.
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Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth. It has an occurrence in the Earth's crust of about 0.1%, generally occurring as phosphate in minerals.
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White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus or simply tetraphosphorus (P 4) exists as molecules of four phosphorus atoms in a tetrahedral structure, joined by six phosphorus—phosphorus single bonds. [1] The free P 4 molecule in the gas phase has a P-P bond length of r g = 2.1994(3) Å as was determined by gas electron diffraction . [ 2 ]
People exposed to white phosphorus can suffer severe and sometimes deadly bone-deep burns. It can cause organs to shut down, and burns on just 10% of the body can be fatal, HRW said.