{"id":58906,"date":"2025-11-13T20:14:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T01:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=58906"},"modified":"2025-11-13T20:14:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T01:14:36","slug":"florida-dot-miami-dade-consider-adding-radioactive-toxic-waste-to-roadway-asphalt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2025\/11\/13\/florida-dot-miami-dade-consider-adding-radioactive-toxic-waste-to-roadway-asphalt\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida DOT & Miami-Dade Consider Adding Radioactive & Toxic Waste To Roadway Asphalt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is moving forward with a controversial plan to test the use of phosphogypsum, a byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production, as a material for road construction. This move follows the passage of\u00a0House Bill 1191<\/a>, which allows FDOT to study the feasibility of using phosphogypsum as a road aggregate. The bill was signed into law earlier this year, opening the door for pilot projects across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Phosphogypsum is a waste product left over after phosphate is processed into fertilizer. It contains small amounts of uranium and radium, both radioactive elements. As radium decays, it produces radon, a radioactive gas linked to lung cancer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has long classified phosphogypsum as hazardous<\/a> and requires it to be stored in specially designed stacks called \u201cgypstacks\u201d to minimize public exposure and environmental contamination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these risks, Florida lawmakers argue that using phosphogypsum in roads could help reduce the state\u2019s growing landfill burden. The Mosaic Company<\/a>, the largest phosphate producer in Florida, is set to launch a pilot project near one of its gypstacks. Test sections of road are being built using mixtures of phosphogypsum, and University of Florida researchers will monitor the results. However, legal challenges have already been filed under the Clean Air Act, with critics warning that decades of contamination and health risks have followed the use of phosphogypsum in other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County is exploring its own plan to repurpose hazardous toxic waste. County commissioners recently approved the construction of a new waste-to-energy incinerator to replace aging facilities. The new project includes plans to reprocess the ash produced by the incinerator and use it in asphalt<\/a> and concrete for local roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technical studies have shown that up to 15% of incinerator ash can be mixed into hot-mix asphalt. However, tests also reveal that heavy metals such as lead and copper can leach into groundwater, especially under real-world conditions like rain and traffic wear. These metals are known to pose serious health risks, including neurological damage and cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past incinerator sites in Miami, such as the infamous \u201cOld Smokey<\/a>\u201d facility, have left behind a legacy of hazardous contamination and costly lawsuits. Residents and environmental advocates worry that adding toxic ash to new roads could repeat these mistakes, exposing communities to long-term health threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both phosphogypsum and incinerator ash contain radioactive elements and\/or toxic heavy metals. The potential dangers are significant. Increased cancer risk from radon emissions and exposure to radioactive materials is a major concern. Groundwater contamination is another serious threat, as rain, traffic, and wear can release toxic substances into the soil and aquifers that supply drinking water for millions of Floridians. Florida\u2019s unique geology, porous limestone, and shallow aquifers make the state especially vulnerable to contamination. Once pollutants enter the groundwater, they can spread quickly and be difficult to remove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents, environmentalists, and health advocates have voiced strong opposition to these plans<\/a>. Many say they feel left out of the decision-making process and worry that their health and safety are being put at risk for the sake of cost savings and convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal experts point out that while the state and county governments have the authority to move forward with these projects, they also have a responsibility to protect public health. Lawsuits have already been filed, and more are expected as the plans move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The future of Florida\u2019s roads and the health of its residents swing in the balance as these controversial plans unfold. While the push to recycle hazardous waste may offer short-term economic benefits, the long-term risks to public health and the environment remain deeply uncertain. As pilot projects begin and legal battles heat up, the state will face tough choices about how to balance innovation, industry, and the safety of its communities. The outcome could set a precedent for how hazardous waste is managed across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is moving forward with a controversial plan to test the use of phosphogypsum, a byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production, as a material for road… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58907,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"17","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNVwvMTFcL1NjcmVlbnNob3QtMTAwLTQud2VicD9maXQ9NTIyJTJDMjcyJnNzbD0xIiwidHh0IjoiRmxvcmlkYSBET1QgJmFtcDsgTWlhbWktRGFkZSBDb25zaWRlciBBZGRpbmcgUmFkaW9hY3RpdmUgJmFtcDsgVG94aWMgV2FzdGUgVG8gUm9hZHdheSBBc3BoYWx0IiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJoaWdod2F5IiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE2MzA0MDY2MX0.yRVwV1-JqJHUvOGzz06YwGFFsgKXq_mYTnWw8S3x5YMMQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":58907,"url":"http:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-100-4.webp","type":"image\/png"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[12531],"class_list":["post-58906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regional-and-world-news","tag-florida-dot-miami-dade-consider-adding-radioactive-toxic-waste-to-roadway-asphalt"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58906"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58908,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58906\/revisions\/58908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}