EPA Approves Use of Radioactive Industrial Byproduct for Roadway Project
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a pilot project to construct roadways in Florida using phosphogypsum, a radioactive material produced during phosphate fertilizer processing. The approval comes after the EPA deemed the project compliant with national emissions standards, stating that the radiological risks are comparable to current storage practices. Mosaic, the largest U.S. phosphate producer, will begin by constructing four test road sections in Polk County but must seek further permission for wider request. The decision has drawn important public criticism, with many expressing concerns over the potential health risks and environmental impacts associated with using this hazardous material in public infrastructure. Critics argue that the EPA’s approval appears to prioritize industry interests over public health and safety.
Environmental Protection Agency officials approved a project on Monday that involves constructing roadways in Florida with a radioactive material called phosphogypsum.
The initiative proposed by Mosaic, the largest producer of phosphates in the United States, was determined to be “complete per the requirements of EPA’s National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants under the Clean Air Act,” according to a notice posted in the federal register.
Current regulations require phosphogypsum to be stored in engineered piles known as stacks, per a report from technology news outlet Xataka On.
But the EPA concluded that “the potential radiological risks from conducting the pilot project meet the regulatory requirement that the project is at least as protective of public health as maintaining the phosphogypsum in a stack.”
Mosaic only submitted a proposal for a “small-scale pilot project,” according to the entry in the federal register.
The company therefore plans to build four sections of test road at its facility in Polk County, Florida, but will have to seek permission to expand the initiative.
“The EPA’s approval applies only to the proposed pilot project and not any broader use,” the agency continued.
“Any other use would require a separate application, risk assessment, and approval.”
One webpage from the EPA explains that phosphogypsum comes from the waste left behind when phosphate rock is processed to make fertilizer.
That process involves removing the phosphorus by dissolving the rock in an acidic solution.
“Most of the naturally-occurring uranium found in phosphate rock ends up in the acid and the other radionuclides, including radium, mostly end up in the waste,” the webpage says.
Beyond uranium and radium, phosphogypsum contains thorium and emits radon, a radioactive gas, as the substance decays.
The majority of comments submitted to the EPA with respect to the Mosaic project were negative, expressing skepticism toward using the material in public roads.
Ragan Whitlock, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, likewise said in a statement provided to The Hill that the decision to allow the project was “mind-boggling.”
“That dramatically increases the potential for harm to our road crews and water quality,” Whitlock said.
“The EPA has bowed to political pressure from the phosphate industry and paved the way for this dangerous waste to be used in roads all over the country,” the attorney contended.
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