These Florida lawmakers oppose fertilizer giant Mosaic's 'radioactive roads'

Critics of Mosaic’s plan to test its waste byproduct in road construction say the company is putting profits over human health.

A coalition of state and local lawmakers is making its stance known to federal environment regulators: Don’t allow a Tampa-based Fortune 500 fertilizer company to pave its roads with phosphogypsum, the mildly radioactive leftovers from phosphate manufacturing.

At least 30 lawmakers on Monday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny an application from Mosaic to use more than 300 tons of phosphogypsum as a test ingredient in road construction at the company’s New Wales plant in Mulberry.

Right now, Mosaic stores its phosphate byproduct in land-based piles, called gypsum stacks or “gypstacks.” But in a move that critics claim is driven by the desire for more profits, the company wants to remove the byproduct from its New Wales gypstack and mix it into a 1,200-foot road.

The controversial plan was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times in June, and the revelation came just weeks before Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that will allow the state’s transportation department to test the byproduct in roadways. Mosaic lobbied for the bill and covered the costs of a fundraiser — to the tune of $25,000 — for the state lawmaker who sponsored the measure.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2023/09/19/these-florida-lawmakers-oppose-fertilizer-giant-mosaics-radioactive-roads/

On the plus side, phosphogypsum would probably help melt snow off the roads...