- The measure, brought forward by the state House, adds phosphogypsum to a list of "recyclable materials" that state officials say can be used in road construction.
The list already included ground rubber from car tires, ash residue from coal combustion byproducts, recycled mixed-plastic, glass and construction steel, which officials had previously determined are "part of the solid waste stream and that contribute to problems of declining space in landfills."
But unlike most of those products, phosphogypsum is not a material that is aggregated in landfills. It's the remains left behind from mining phosphate, which is
described by the EPA as being a "radioactive material" because it contains "small amounts" of uranium and radium.
Phosphate rock is mined to create fertilizer, but the leftover material, known as phosphogypsum, had decaying remains of those elements that eventually produce radon. That substance is known as a "potentially cancer-causing, radioactive gas," a spokesperson for the EPA previously told CBS News. And because of that risk, phosphogypsum is federally required to be stored in gypstack systems – not landfills – in an attempt to prevent it from coming in contact with people and the environment.
"The Clean Air Act regulations require that phosphogypsum be managed in engineered stacks to limit public exposure from emissions of radon and other radionuclides in the material," an EPA spokesperson previously told CBS News.
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Before it can be used, the state's Department of Transportation will need to conduct a study to "evaluate the suitability" of its use, the bill says, and "may consider any prior or ongoing studies of phosphogypsum's road suitability in the fulfillment of this duty." That task must be completed by April 1, 2024.
DeSantis has not yet publicly commented on the signing of this bill, and CBS News has reached out for a statement.
Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement that the bill is a "reckless handout to the fertilizer industry."
"Gov. DeSantis is paving the way to a toxic legacy generations of Floridians will have to grapple with," Bennett said. "This opens the door for dangerous radioactive waste to be dumped in roadways across the state, under the guise of a so-called feasibility study that won't address serious health and safety concerns."
Phosphogypsum is a material known by the EPA to contain a "potentially cancer-causing, radioactive gas," that's the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.
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