Florida's idea to use radioactive waste in road construction is unsafe, critics say

Public Radio Tulsa By Greg Allen, NPR July 17, 2023 LISTEN • 3:48

ADRIAN FLORIDO, HOST: Florida has a big problem - mountains of waste material left over from phosphate mining. In some parts of the state, they tower hundreds of feet in the air. The state is asking the Environmental Protection Agency for permission to use the waste to build roads. But as NPR's Greg Allen reports, there's a hitch. It's radioactive. GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: It's called phosphogypsum. That's what's left over when phosphate rock is turned into fertilizer. More than 20 mountains of this material rise over rural areas in central and north Florida. And sometimes there are problems. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Developing right now, there's an around-the-clock effort to prevent an environmental catastrophe in Tampa Bay.

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