https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-radioactive-roads-phosphogypsum-potentially-cancer-causing-mining-waste-bill-signed-ron-desantis/

Florida governor and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday that would allow for roads across Florida to be made with “radioactive” mining waste that has been linked to cancer. 

The measure, brought forward by the state House, adds phosphogypsum to a list of “recyclable materials” that state officials say can be used in road construction. 

The list already included ground rubber from car tires, ash residue from coal combustion byproducts, recycled mixed-plastic, glass and construction steel, which officials had previously determined are “part of the solid waste stream and that contribute to problems of declining space in landfills.” 

But unlike most of those products, phosphogypsum is not a material that is aggregated in landfills. It’s the remains left behind from mining phosphate, which is described by the EPA as being a “radioactive material” because it contains “small amounts” of uranium and radium. 

Phosphate rock is mined to create fertilizer, but the leftover material, known as phosphogypsum, had decaying remains of those elements that eventually produce radon. That substance is known as a “potentially cancer-causing, radioactive gas,” a spokesperson for the EPA previously told CBS News. And because of that risk, phosphogypsum is federally required to be stored in gypstack systems – not landfills – in an attempt to prevent it from coming in contact with people and the environment. 

“The Clean Air Act regulations require that phosphogypsum be managed in engineered stacks to limit public exposure from emissions of radon and other radionuclides in the material,” an EPA spokesperson previously told CBS News. 

Before it can be used, the state’s Department of Transportation will need to conduct a study to “evaluate the suitability” of its use, the bill says, and “may consider any prior or ongoing studies of phosphogypsum’s road suitability in the fulfillment of this duty.” That task must be completed by April 1, 2024. 

DeSantis has not yet publicly commented on the signing of this bill, and CBS News has reached out for a statement.

Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director and attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement that the bill is a “reckless handout to the fertilizer industry.” 

“Gov. DeSantis is paving the way to a toxic legacy generations of Floridians will have to grapple with,” Bennett said. “This opens the door for dangerous radioactive waste to be dumped in roadways across the state, under the guise of a so-called feasibility study that won’t address serious health and safety concerns.” 

What makes phosphogypsum so risky?

Radon, the gas emitted from phosphogypsum, trails just smoking to rank as the second-leading cause of lung cancer, and is linked to about 21,000 lung cancer deaths every year in the U.S., according to the EPA. The agency also says it’s the “single greatest environmental source of radiation exposure.”  

Because of this threat, the EPA has banned the use of phosphogypsum in projects for decades. However, a spokesperson for the agency previously told CBS News that it is permitted for agricultural and indoor research, with restrictions, and it can be approved for specific uses if the project “is at least as protective of human health as placement in a stack.” 

In a statement to CBS News on Friday, the EPA said that the passing of the legislation, HB 1191, “does not affect EPA’s regulation of phosphogypsum,” noting the legislation specifies that the phosphogypsum be used “in accordance with the conditions” of the agency. 

“Any request for a specific use of phosphogypsum in roads will need to be submitted to EPA,” the spokesperson said, “as EPA’s approval is legally required before the material can be used in road construction.”

If it is approved, the EPA previously told CBS News it would “open a public comment period, make any applications and our technical analysis of those applications publicly available, and seek input on the proposed decision.”

Florida’s history of phosphogypsum problems

Phosphate mining has been an ongoing source of contention within Florida for decades. This issue has most recently been seen in the controversy surrounding Piney Point, a former phosphate mining facility in the Gulf Coast’s Manatee County — that after several years of problems — had a nearly “catastrophic” breach in 2021 that resulted in 215 million gallons of water with environmentally toxic levels of nutrients ending up in Tampa Bay within just 10 days.

 

TOXIC LEAK: Residents near Piney Point retention pond in Manatee County, Florida were evacuated on Saturday as officials fear an "imminent" collapse of a local wastewater reservoir contaminated with material that could be radioactive. https://t.co/phrXuNUqdg pic.twitter.com/dQ9RCkYYBA

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 4, 2021

It was found to be a contributor to a red tide event and massive fish kill in the area in the following months. It lead to a lawsuit from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, and prompted Florida lawmakers to budget $3 million to clean up the site.

Ragan Whitlock, a staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, told CBS News when the bill was introduced that “history has shown wherever this waste goes, environmental contamination has followed.” 

The state has 25 gypstacks, several of which have had leaks, sinkholes and other issues arise throughout their lifespans. In May, more than 20 organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, urged DeSantis to veto the bill. 

“No environmentally conscious or ‘green’ governor worth his salt would ever sign a bill into law approving roadbuilding with radioactive materials,” Rachael Curran, an attorney with People for Protecting Peace River, said in the letter urging the governor’s decision. 

And even with the promise of the state’s Department of Transportation looking at conducting a study or considering one that has already been done, Whitlock told CBS News he has “very little confidence” in the state’s “ability to manage this project.” 

“The feasibility study that the Florida Department of Transportation would create is only aimed at addressing whether this would be a suitable construction material,” he said. “The Florida Department of Transportation is not in the position to make a finding about the health and safety of this product to Floridians and our environment.”

 

For more information on the damage to the Florida environment and the harm to residents, read the following.   Sure will help get tourist dollars, won’t it.    Hugs.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/manatee/2021/04/06/piney-point-retention-pond-what-you-need-know-tuesday-florida-wastewater-leak/7103334002/

Piney Point: What you need to know on Tuesday, April 6 about evacuations, Florida wastewater leak

https://www.heraldtribune.com/videos/news/2023/06/28/manatee-county-mosquito-control/12178802002/

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• More than 300 hundred homes and multiple businesses in the area around Piney Point have been evacuated.
• A state of emergency has been declared by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
• State and local officials are coordinating efforts.

Herald-Tribune journalists are covering the situation in Piney Point and possible impacts to the area, like we have for over 20 years. Local journalism like this is supported by our readers. If you’re a subscriber we thank you. And if you’d like to subscribe, please see our current offers here.

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Last week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection approved the pumping of wastewater into the Tampa Bay ecosystem from a retention pond at Piney Point – a former phosphate plant in Manatee County. A leak in the liner of the reservoir has caused a partial breach in one of the containment walls and officials hope that pumping more than 30 million gallons of wastewater out of the reservoir will relieve pressure on the walls and reduce the chance of an uncontrolled major breach.

More than 300 hundred homes and multiple businesses in the area around Piney Point have been evacuated. State and local officials are coordinating efforts and a state of emergency has been declared by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

  

 

 

 

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The shoreline along Tampa Bay, just north of Port Manatee and Piney Point. Millions of gallons of wastewater are being pumped into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee in an effort to avoid a catastrophic failure of a containment wall at Piney Point.

MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

 

 

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This still image from video shows the breach in the containment wall of the Piney Point reservoir. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.

MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

 

 

 

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Wastewater from Piney Point is flowing into Tampa Bay at this berth at Port Manatee. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.

MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

 

 

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United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.

MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

 

 

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Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into Tampa Bay at Port Manatee, via this water-filled ditch in the center of this image. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.

MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

 

 

 

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Wastewater from Piney Point is flowing into Tampa Bay at this berth at Port Manatee. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.

MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

 

 

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Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into this ditch and into Tampa Bay. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.

MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

 

 

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Wastewater being pumped from the Piney Point reservoir flows into this ditch and into Tampa Bay. United States Congressman Vern Buchanan toured Piney Point Monday, Apr. 5, 2021, getting a look at the breach in the containment wall, the pumping outflow and Port Manatee where the wastewater is being pumped into Tampa Bay.

MIKE LANG, SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

 

 

 

 

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The wastewater containment ponds at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant property in Manatee County. A breach in a containment pond wall led to more than 200 million gallons of polluted water being dumped into Tampa Bay. Florida lawmakers have included $100 million in the 2021-2022 budget for the Piney Point cleanup effort, among other budget earmarks targeted at projects in Sarasota or Manatee counties.

MIKE LANG/HERALD-TRIBUNE FILE

 

 

 

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Congressman Vern Buchanan got an aerial tour of the Piney Point reservoir breach, pumping outflow and Tampa Bay on Monday, Apr. 5th

MIKE LANG

 

What is the situation at Piney Point on Tuesday?

The strategy of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies working on Piney Point is to reduce the amount water so that there is less pressure on the damaged reservoir retaining walls, in order to prevent a catastrophic breach that could send a massive wall of water into the surrounding area.

After pumping more than 30 million gallons of wastewater each day from Piney Point into Tampa Bay, the amount of water in the Piney Point retention pond has dropped to under 300 million gallons, down from approximately 480 million gallons last week at this time.

The addition of new federal and state resources should increase the rate at which water can be pumped out of Piney Point.

April 6 updates:U.S. 41 reopens; mandatory evacuation order remains in place

Is the wastewater radioactive?:Your questions about the leak answered

 

Is there a second breach in the Piney Point retention pond?

While the leaking wastewater containment pond wall at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant site continues to be a critical situation, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said Monday that concerns about a possible second breach in the wall have proven to be unfounded.

Manatee County officials said that a drone equipped with thermal imaging equipment identified a possible second breach in the wall at 2 a.m. Monday. An investigation later determined that the area identified was not another wall failure, according to the DEP.

“Our technical team and our engineers came in and evaluated and determined there was no second breach,” said DEP Spokeswoman Shannon Herbon.

DEP official says no second breach in Piney Point retention pond wall

 

What are the environmental impacts of pumping Piney Point wastewater into Tampa Bay?

Environmental groups say they worry that recent releases from a Piney Point wastewater treatment facility will eventually fuel an algae bloom that could impact coastal Southwest Florida. 

Nutrient-rich waters from the treatment facility will offset natural balances in the coastal estuaries and will eventually end up in the Gulf of Mexico, where red tide initiates. 

The region was partially crippled during a 17-month red tide bloom that started in the fall of 2017 and lasted until the spring of 2019.

Piney Point waters may fuel harmful algae bloom along Southwest Florida coast

 

What will happen to Piney Point once this crisis is over?

State lawmakers are pushing a bill to fund a complete cleanup and closure of the phosphogypsum stacks at Piney Point with American Rescue Plan funds, an effort that could cost upwards of $200 million.

On Monday evening, Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) announced that the Senate will consider a budget amendment on Wednesday when it considers Senate Bill 2500, known as the General Appropriations Act.

Florida Senate seeks to use federal COVID relief money to clean up Piney Point site

 

What about evacuations for people living near Piney Point?

More than 300 households and numerous businesses have been evacuated and those evacuation orders are still active.

On Monday, Manatee County Public Safety  reported that the county has had to help relocate more people among the more than 300 households that were covered by the mandatory evacuation around the Piney Point wastewater reservoir. 102 residents have now been provided shelter at local hotels with the assistance of Manatee County and the Red Cross.