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Florida bill allowing radioactive roads made of potentially cancer-causing mining waste signed by DeSantis (www.cbsnews.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/politics@kbin.social
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Under the new bill, Florida could have roads made of phosphogypsum, a material known by the EPA to contain a "potentially cancer-causing, radioactive gas," that's the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.

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[–] 3 points 3 years ago (3 children)

But it's just radon - people have that shit in their basements all the time. I am curious if this could actually work. Like there is a limited amount of radon in the material, and once its out there in a thin layer, wouldn't it all vent off after a short period of time? Especially in the sun?

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  • [–] 17 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    The radiation issue with phosphogypsum is mostly the Thorium.

    Which isn't much of an issue really.

    The environmental issues really come from the chemical properties of the material. As the quote goes; radiation is fleeting, arsenic is forever.

    Not that phosphogypsum has elevated levels of arsenic, but it does have phosphates that cause Eutrophication. Which kills lakes and waterways.

    Then there's the Thorium and Uranium. Those are radioactive, but are also heavy metals and cause heavy metal poisoning. Thorium doesn't have a common water soluble oxide, but Uranium sure does. So that's two things that leech out of the phosphogypsum...

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    "Not that phosphogypsum has elevated levels of arsenic, but it does have phosphates that cause Eutrophication. Which kills lakes and waterways."

    Perfect for use in Florida swamplands, you say? The War on Woke Gators has begun!

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    Basements don't see much action though. I imagine that a road is constantly under stress. Both from vehicles and temperature changes, all this causes cracking. I'm worried that this tasty dust will travel places (i.e. up peoples' lungs).

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