Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis i shoping the Sunshine State will be a little brighter after signing a bill allow the use of radioactive materials in road construction last week.
This material is called phosphogypsum, and that’s ah by product of fertilizer production. What are these I have to go to school every day about phosphogypsum:
When treating phosphate rock for fertilizer, phosphorus is removed by dissolving the rock in an acidic solution. The remaining waste is called phosphogypsum. Most of the natural uranium, thorium, and radium found in phosphate rock end up in this waste. Uranium and thorium decay to radium, and radium decays to radon, a radioactive gas. Because the waste is concentrated, phosphogypsum is more radioactive than the original phosphate rock.
Doesn’t sound good! The EPA notes that these are often stored in giant “stacks” hundreds of feet high that cover many acres. And there’s so much more; For every ton of refined phosphate, five tons of phosphogypsum are produced, according to NPR. Florida produces a lot of this waste and currently stores more than a billion tons of this waste. Fertilizer manufacturers are tired of this stuff lying around, taking up space and making no money.
That’s where HB 1191 comes in:
HB 1191 required the Florida Department of Transportation to conduct “demonstration projects using phosphogypsum in road construction composites to determine its feasibility as a paving material,” as they studied the use of phosphogypsum. on the road.
Florida’s Transportation Authority currently has less than a year to complete the study and make recommendations; The bill sets a deadline of April 1, 2024.
Bennett criticized the plan, saying that under the new law, radioactive waste would be dumped on the streets “under the guise of so-called feasibility studies that would not solve serious health and safety issues.” ”
What kind of health and safety concerns? The kind you get when you play with uranium, thorium and radium; Health concerns include numerous cancers for construction workers and anyone drawing from the nearby groundwater table. Radium also decays into radon — a cancer that causes radioactive gas. The fertilizer industry of all kinds speaks for it’That’s perfectly fine, yes, they would say.
The EPA was the last hurdle Florida faced before moving forward with the project. Currently, the Administration has a 30-year ban on phosphogypsum use in road construction, but will review Florida’s proposal.
