TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida may study whether a radioactive waste byproduct of fertilizer production can be used to help build roads under a bill passed by the Legislature.
The proposal, which awaits a signature from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, would task the state with conducting a study about the use of phosphogypsum in road construction aggregate materials.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires that phosphogypsum be placed in ”stacks” that resemble enormous ponds. Florida has 24 such stacks, totaling about 1 billion tons of phosphogypsum, with 30 million new tons generated every year through the phosphate fertilizer mining industry.
The EPA in 2020 approved the use of phosphogypsum in government road construction projects but reversed its decision after Democratic President Joe Biden took office.
Environmental groups have warned about phosphogypsum spilling into waterways and elsewhere during storms. 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. The EPA regulates phosphogypsum because the material contains radium-226, a naturally occurring radioactive substance that produces radon gas, which is a hazardous air pollutant.
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I will bet the Radium is only detectable because of the low level radiation it emits. Otherwise it is just another trace element left over from the refining process. Using radon as the excuse is a dodge too, radon is only hazardous when it is concentrated but not a real issue in open air, so there is realistically less environmental hazards using it to pave roads. The stacks concentrate the impact of a release but the P in EPA doesn't stand for Protection any more, more like Poisoning..
ReplyDeleteSure, why not, We are already slow cooking our population with 5G microwave transmission with the cell phone networks.
ReplyDeleteRadon gas is only hazardous in confined spaces (like your basement). And one of the most common ways to address high radon concentrations in basements is to vent it outside. So no, not really a serious "air pollutant" when you are outdoors. It's not like that radon isn't being released from the natural fertilizer deposits even before processing. Putting it out in roadways over long stretches in the open air is probably a safer way to handle it than anything else they could do with it.
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