The Mosaic Company, a producer of phosphate, will soon be starting a pilot road project in Polk County that will use a controversial waste material.
The material is called phosphogypsum, and it’s mildly radioactive, which, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), can cause cancer.
The phosphogypsum in the road construction pilot project will be blended into the road base layer, and then asphalt pavement will be laid on top.
There will also be control sections that don’t contain the solid waste byproduct and numerous groundwater monitoring wells for sample collection.
The 3,200-foot test road is on private property at Mosaic’s New Wales facility in Mulberry.
“The phosphate industry has for many years tried to come up with ways to get rid of their waste product, and so this is one of the latest proposals they’ve done,” said the Director of ManaSota-88 Glenn Compton.
Compton says this project is an attempt by The Mosaic Company to reduce costs.
He’s concerned the project will be less regulated and there will be no oversight of potential environmental impacts.
“We have a lot of concern this will increase pollution from runoff into our streams and lakes and rivers and also to our groundwater, which in the state of Florida we depend on for our groundwater supply,” said Compton.
In June 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law allowing the use of phosphogypsum in road construction.
The EPA approved the pilot project in December, stating the project is “as protective of human health as placement in a stack” and “the risk posed by this project to the public and workers is extremely low.”
In a statement, The Mosaic Company said in part:
“Trust the science. A host of regulators are involved throughout the process. Federal regulations require the EPA to perform a rigorous scientific risk analysis when evaluating a request to use phosphogypsum beneficially. The impacts to human health and the environment are the primary focus of that analysis.”
“I would expect we’re going to see quite a few proposals in the future if this is deemed a successful project,” said Compton.
A spokesperson for The Mosaic Company says the pilot project will begin sometime between now and June, though a specific date is unknown.
Maybe they won’t need streetlights with the soft green glow.