The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a controversial proposal that would lead to using phosphogypsum, a radioactive byproduct of the phosphate industry, in a road project.
The EPA on Friday issued a notice of approval for Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC, a subsidiary of The Mosaic Company, to move forward with the pilot road project on company property in Polk County. The possibility of using phosphogypsum in road projects has long drawn opposition from environmental groups, which have argued it could pose risks to people working on roads and to water quality.
Phosphogypsum is typically stored in huge stacks, but Mosaic proposed building four sections of test road that would include different mixtures of phosphogypsum in road base material, according to the EPA notice. The project would be at the company’s New Wales facility.
In the notice, which is expected to be published Monday in the Federal Register, the EPA said the “approval applies only to the proposed pilot project and not any broader use.” The notice acknowledged a large number of comments submitted in opposition to the proposal but said the EPA concluded the project would be safe.