Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill that will allow the Florida Department of Transportation to study the use of phosphogypsum in road construction. This came after a longstanding federal-level prohibition on using phosphogypsum, which was repealed by then-President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in October 2020 and then reinstated by President Joe Biden’s EPA in June 2021. While phosphogypsum could improve roadway quality at a lower cost, its use should be subject to review and further study.
Phosphorus is a critical component of modern, industrial-grade fertilizers. Phosphogypsum remains after phosphate rocks are dissolved and treated to make phosphoric
