Florida Lawmakers Want to Pave Roads , With Radioactive Material.<br />Lawmakers in Florida want Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign a bill allowing roads in the state to include phosphogypsum. .<br />Phosphogypsum is a radioactive waste material produced by the fertilizer industry.<br />HB 1191 would direct the Florida Transportation Department to conduct , "demonstration projects using phosphogypsum <br />in road construction aggregate material to <br />determine its feasibility as a paving material.".<br />If approved, the waste material would <br />become a pavement aggregate, just as <br />stone, gravel and sand are used.<br />The EPA reports that "phosphogypsum contains appreciable quantities of uranium and its decay products, such as radium-226.".<br />It "is more radioactive than the original phosphate rock" that is used to produce phosphoric acid for fertilizer, according to the agency.<br />Florida alone accounts for approximately 80 percent of the current capacity, making it the world's largest phosphate producing area, Via EPA.gov.<br />Critics, who say phosphogypsum would <br />contaminate the water and increase road crews' cancer risks, are urging DeSantis to veto HB 1191.<br />Critics, who say phosphogypsum would <br />contaminate the water and increase road crews' cancer risks, are urging DeSantis to veto HB 1191.<br />Using radioactive phosphogypsum in roads is not a solution to the fertilizer industry's toxic waste problem. , The Center for Biological Diversity and more than <br />30 other groups, via a letter to Ron DeSantis .<br />Florida should not be a test subject in the industry's reckless experiment, The Center for Biological Diversity and more than <br />30 other groups, via a letter to Ron DeSantis
