As with any other proposed project, the EPA would then open a public comment period, release its own technical analysis and seek input about the proposal.This hydration conversation has been sponsored by Baptist Health South Florida.
FLORIDA WATERDO CODE
The agency said Florida would have to apply for approval of its plan, citing the code of federal regulations. EPA review proposed alternative uses of phosphogypsum on an individual, case-by-case basis." When Florida's lawmakers approved the bill in early May, the EPA told NPR, "The legislation passed in Florida would not affect the requirement. Its supporting documents note that the EPA allows some uses for research purposes - and the law also asserts that phosphogypsum is not technically a "solid waste." The Florida legislation doesn't address the federal prohibition outright. Under former President Donald Trump, the EPA briefly rescinded that policy starting in October 2020. The EPA says "phosphogypsum remains prohibited from use in road construction," as it has been almost continuously for more than 30 years. In a letter to DeSantis, the Center for Biological Diversity and more than 30 other groups stated that "Florida should not be a test subject in the industry's reckless experiment." Is Florida's plan legal?
But they also concluded that more studies were needed, noting that "few studies have focused on its durability or analyzed its long-term effects on soil and water resources."Ĭonservation and environmental groups banded together to fight the Florida bill, saying it caters to the fertilizer industry - which, they said, previously has shown it can't adequately manage the more than 1 billion tons of waste currently stored in the state. Last November, researchers in China who reviewed numerous existing studies on recycling phosphogypsum said they were optimistic about its potential use in road construction materials. Such work, it stated, "can be done safely and results in doses that are a small fraction of those arising from natural background radiation." "The radium is of particular concern because it decays to form radon, a cancer-causing, radioactive gas," the EPA adds.Īn analysis commissioned by the Fertilizer Institute, a group that represents the fertilizer industry, disagrees, saying that using phosphogypsum in road construction won't produce radioactive doses that are above the EPA's acceptable risks. "Phosphogypsum contains appreciable quantities of uranium and its decay products, such as radium-226," according to the EPA, which also notes that because the fertilizer production process concentrates waste material, "phosphogypsum is more radioactive than the original phosphate rock." They've been linked to serious water pollution over the years, due to sinkholes and other breaches. For every ton of phosphoric acid produced, more than 5 tons of phosphogypsum waste is generated.įlorida has been an important source since the 1800s currently, the EPA notes, "Florida alone accounts for approximately 80 percent of the current capacity, making it the world's largest phosphate producing area."įlorida's prominent role means the state also has massive waste sites called phosphogypsum stacks, or "gypstacks." Such stacks can be very large - spanning up to 800 acres and about 200 feet in height.
The commonly used production process, which dates to the 1840s, is not very efficient. To make phosphoric acid for fertilizer and a few other uses, phosphate rock is dissolved in sulfuric acid. In fertilizer, phosphorus is important for plants to grow strong roots and for crops to be productive. What is phosphogypsum and why is there so much of it?
The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature had approved the measure by a wide margin. HB 1191 compels the Florida Transportation Department to conduct "demonstration projects using phosphogypsum in road construction aggregate material to determine its feasibility as a paving material," as it studies using phosphogypsum in roads.įlorida's transportation agency now has less than a year to complete a study and make a recommendation the bill sets a deadline of April 1, 2024.īennett criticized the plan, saying that under the new law, radioactive waste would be dumped in roadways "under the guise of a so-called feasibility study that won't address serious health and safety concerns."ĭeSantis signed the bill into law several days after formally receiving it.
In recent years industrial byproducts and reclaimed materials also have been used as aggregates, according to the Federal Highway Administration. The new law looks to clear the way for phosphogypsum to be used as a pavement aggregate alongside crushed stone, gravel, sand and other materials.
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