The Florida Senate on Monday gave final approval to a bill that could be a step toward using phosphogypsum, a byproduct of the phosphate industry, in building roads.
Senators voted 34-4 to approve the bill (HB 1191), which passed the House last week. It is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The issue has drawn attention, at least in part, because phosphogypsum includes radioactive elements. It is stored in huge stacks.
The bill would allow the Department of Transportation to move forward with demonstration projects that include phosphogypsum in aggregate materials in road construction.
The bill would require the Florida Department of Transportation to complete a study on the feasibility of using phosphogypsum as a material for road construction, with an unreasonably short completion date of April 1, 2024.
“Upon a determination of suitability by the department, phosphogypsum from phosphate production may be used as a construction aggregate material in accordance with the conditions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency approval for the use,” the bill says.
Opponents raised questions about potential hazards from using phosphogypsum, including whether it could harm people working on roads and whether it could affect water in aquifers.
Senate sponsor Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, said the study would look at such issues. The dissenting votes were cast by Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton, Sen. Rosalind Osgood, D-Fort Lauderdale, Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Windermere, and Sen. Victor Torres, D-Orlando.
More than 20 conservation organizations across the Southeast urged DeSantis to veto the bill.
The Environmental Protection Agency currently prohibits using the toxic phosphate waste in roadway construction because it poses an unacceptable risk to road construction workers, public health and the environment.
“The only way Gov. DeSantis can assure Floridians he’s serious about protecting them from this radioactive waste is to veto this reckless bill,” said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “This dangerous plan to pave Florida’s roads with toxic phosphate mining waste is an egregious handout to an industry that has a lengthy history of damaging the environment and putting public health at risk.”