Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that could pave the way for using phosphogypsum in construction of the state’s roads.
The bill (HB 1191), which Republican Rep. Lawrence McClure introduced, adds the radioactive waste byproduct of fertilizer production to the list of materials allowed to be used for road construction. The new law calls for the study of demonstration projects using the material in road construction materials “to determine its feasibility as a paving material.”
Conservation groups had urged DeSantis to veto the bill, saying that the material would damage water quality and put road construction crews at a higher risk for cancer.
Phosphogypsum is produced when phosphate rock is dissolved in sulfuric acid, which is done to make the phosphoric acid necessary to manufacture fertilizer.
For every ton of phosphorus produced, the process also turns out five tons of phosphogypsum. There are around 1 billion tons of phosphogypsum divided among 24 stacks in Florida, with 30 million new tons created annually.
For every ton of phosphoric acid produced, more than 5 tons of phosphogypsum waste is generated, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA approved using it for road construction under the Donald Trump administration, but President Joe Biden changed that policy.
“Upon further review, EPA has determined that the approval was premature and should be withdrawn because the request did not contain all of the required information,” the EPA announced in 2021. “With this action, phosphogypsum remains prohibited from use in road construction projects.”
Most Democrats in the House voted against the legislation as well as a handful in the Senate. Republican Sen. Jay Trumbull argued for using it, however, saying that it would address supply chain deficiencies. He also pointed out that Japan, Australia, Canada, Spain and Belgium all use this practice, with those nations reusing 35-40 million tons of phosphogypsum annually.
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Wes Wolfe contributed to this report.
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