Florida may study use of radioactive waste in building roads
The bill, which awaits a signature from Republican governor Ron DeSantis, permits the use of toxic phosphogypsum in the road construction aggregate materials
Florida legislators have passed a bill permitting the use of radioactive waste byproduct of fertilizer production to help build ‘demonstration’ road projects in Florida.
The bill, which awaits a signature from Republican governor Ron DeSantis, permits the use of toxic phosphogypsum in the road construction aggregate materials.
The US Environmental Protection Agency prohibits using the toxic phosphate waste in roadway construction because it poses an unacceptable risk to road construction workers, public health and the environment.
The US EPA currently requires that phosphogypsum be stored in piles called “gypstacks” that resembles enormous ponds of hundreds of acres wide.
Critics said putting phosphogypsum in roads would let the fertilizer industry off the hook for safely disposing of nearly 30 millions of tons of dangerous waste it creates each year through the phosphate fertilizer mining industry beside over 1 billion tons of radioactive phosphogypsum already stored in 24 stacks in Florida.
“This dangerous plan to pave Florida’s roads with toxic phosphate mining waste is an egregious handout to an industry that has a lengthy history of damaging the environment and putting public health at risk," they said.
Environmental groups also warned about phosphogypsum spilling into waterways and elsewhere during storms.
The stacks are prone to spills and sinkholes-a leak in March 2021 at a stack called Piney Point resulted in the release of an estimated 215 million gallons (814 million liters) of polluted water into Tampa Bay and caused massive fish kills.
In 2020, during Trump era, the EPA approved the use of phosphogypsum in government road construction projects, but the agency later reversed its decision following a lawsuit and petition by the new regime under Democratic President Joe Biden.
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First Published:9 May 2023, 02:46 AM IST
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