© 2024 WGCU News
PBS and NPR for Southwest Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Biden Admin Reverses Trump Approval of Phosphogypsum in Road Construction

A phosphogypsum stack located in Fort Meade, Florida.
By photographer, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2061028
A phosphogypsum stack located in Fort Meade, Florida.

The Biden administration has announced it is withdrawing approval given by the Trump administration to use phosphogypsum in road and highway construction, primarily in Florida.

Florida already has one billion tons of radioactive phosphogypsum in 25 stacks, including at Piney Point in Manatee County. More than 200 million gallons of wastewater from the Piney Point phosphogypsum stack was recently discharged into Tampa Bay where it is now likely feeding a red tide bloom.