The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will decide in the next few months if the Mosaic Company can build roads using a byproduct of phosphate mining.
If approved, the Tampa-based fertilizer giant will begin building three, 200-foot sections of demonstration road using phosphogypsum at one of their facilities in Polk County.
And Mosaic's application would also face a period of public comment before any approval is finalized.
The hazardous waste is currently banned by the EPA to use in road construction in the United States.
The EPA regulates the use of phosphogypsum under the Clean Air Act and requires the material to be stored in massive storage areas, called gypsum stacks, to limit people's exposure to the dangerous gas emitted.
The phosphate byproduct releases radon, a cancer-causing gas, for up to 1,600 years, according to Ragan Whitlock with the Center for Biological Diversity.
"Hurricane Ian proved to us last year that roadways in Florida are not guaranteed to last 1,600 years," he said. "We saw the Sanibel Causeway collapse into the sea [and] we saw the roads near Arcadia, Florida, collapse into rivers and waterways.
"There's no guarantee that roadways will not crumble back into our sea, and whatever was encapsulated will be once again introduced into our bays and waterways," Whitlock added.
Over a billion tons of the material is stored in "gypstacks" across Florida, Whitlock said.
There are few alternatives for disposal of it.
"Whatever amount is put in roads for road construction will just be a drop in that massive, massive well and will be quickly replaced as the industry seeks to expand their mining operations into Southwest Florida," he said. "This is not an alternative. This is a money grab."
Mosaic's New Wales facility in Polk County would be home to the new roads if it completes the application process and is approved. But the site has been the site of troubles in the past. In 2016, a massive sinkhole released 200 million gallons of polluted water into the Florida aquifer. It was the deepest sinkhole ever recorded.
Two decades earlier, a sinkhole opened at the same site.
During the last state legislative session, lawmakers passed House Bill 1191, which allows the use of the material for building roads. The new law gives the Florida Department of Transportation the authority to conduct feasibility studies on roadways containing phosphogypsum, pending the EPA's approval of beginning the project.
But before any construction begins, the EPA must approve the project. Their approval depends on how the radioactive material is being used, in what amounts, and if any health risks are possible to construction workers or the public, according to a statement provided to WUSF.
After obtaining EPA approval and completing construction, it would then be up to FDOT to oversee a study including the environmental, health, and safety consequences of using the hazardous waste in roads.
Whitlock said he remains skeptical that FDOT is not up to that task. He added that his group is expecting to receive a copy of Mosaic's application soon, as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.
When the review is complete, the EPA will release its findings to solicit public comment, along with Mosaic's complete application.
