On October 15, 2019, EPA received a request from The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), on behalf of its members that own or operate phosphogypsum stacks, to take phosphogypsum out of the stacks and use it in road construction. This request was subsequently revised on April 7, 2020. TFI’s revised request asked that EPA review and approve phosphogypsum use in government road construction projects.

EPA evaluated TFI’s request, concluding that the request demonstrated that the proposed alternative use is at least as protective of public health as disposal of the phosphogypsum in stacks, and, on October 14, 2020, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler approved TFI’s revised request for the use of phosphogypsum in road base and road surface subject to certain terms and conditions. These conditions include that phosphogypsum be used in government road projects [i.e., projects that are authorized by federal, state and local Departments of Transportation (DOT) or Public Works (PW)], and conducted as part of a government road project using appropriate, generally accepted road construction standards and specifications such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM),  Federal Highway Administration, federal or state DOT standards and specifications, or standards developed or approved in consultation with the appropriate regulatory DOT or PW authorities. The terms and conditions of the approval also require that EPA be notified in writing prior to the distribution and/or use of phosphogypsum for any government road project. Further, there are road design and construction limitations, site monitoring, record-keeping, public notification, and worker safety requirements included as part of the approval terms and conditions.

EPA released a Federal Register Notice “Approval of the Request for Other Use of Phosphogypsum by The Fertilizer Institute,” publicizing the approval of the  use of phosphogypsum in government road construction projects. 

View the official notice in the Federal Register (85 FR 66501, October 20, 2020).

The following documents are also available electronically in Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0442 on www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation Docket in the EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC.

View Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2020-0442 on www.regulations.gov.

• Approval of TFI Request for Use of Phosphogypsum in Road Construction (PDF)(8 pp, 6 MB, October 14, 2020)
  Letter from EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to The Fertilizer Institute approving the removal of phosphogypsum from required stacks for use in government road construction projects, subject to certain conditions.
• EPA Review of the Radiological Risk Assessment in Support of Petition for Beneficial Use of Phosphogypsum Prepared for The Fertilizer Institute (PDF)(21 pp, 405 K, October 14, 2020)
  Review performed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Radiation Protection Division, in response to the Radiological Risk Assessment in Support of Petition for Beneficial Use of Phosphogypsum prepared for The Fertilizer Institute (TFI).
• EPA Memorandum: Public Road Abandonment Statutes, Implementation and Case Studies for the State of Florida (PDF)(21 pp, 367 K, October 2020)
  Road abandonment research in support of EPA’s review of TFI request for use of phosphogypsum in road construction in Florida.
• Technical Review of The Fertilizer Institute Risk Assessment for Additional Use of Phosphogypsum In Road Base (PDF)(66 pp, 1 MB, June 2020)
  Review of the risk assessment submitted by The Fertilizer Institute in support of its petition. This technical review was conducted by SC&A under contract to EPA.
• Potential Uses of Phosphogypsum and Associated Risks (PDF)(124 pp, 5 MB, May 1992, EPA 402-R92-002)
  Background Information Document
• Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 61.206 (PDF)(64 pp, 2 MB, April 2020)
  Petition for approval of other uses of phosphogypsum and risk assessment.
• Attachment A to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(4 pp, 584 K, April 2020)
  Reference Road Construction Specifications
• Appendix 1 to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(12 pp, 532 K, April 2020)
  Summary of the Risk Assessment and Metals Screening Report.
• Appendix 2 to Revised Request for Approval for Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(258 pp, 4 MB, October 2019)
  Radiological Risk Assessment in Support of Petition for Beneficial Use of Phosphogypsum. Posted with consent of author.
• Appendix 3 to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(23 pp, 13 MB, October 2019)
  Human Health Risk Screening for Metals and Metalloids.
• Appendix 4a to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(24 pp, 941 K, April 2020)
  Response to EPA Comments on January 16, 2020.
• Appendix 4b to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(8 pp, 197 K, April 2020)
  Responses to Second Set of USEPA Questions on March 6, 2020 –Reclaimer.
• Appendix 5 to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(5 pp, 89 K, December 2019)
  Report on recent measurements of PG radioactivity level in U.S. stacks.
• Appendix 6 to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(28 pp, 805 K, December 2019)
  Policy Navigation Group, Economic Analysis of Phosphogypsum Reuse.
• Appendix 7 to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(1 pg, 98 K, February 2020)
  Location of phosphogypsum stacks.
• Appendix 8 to Revised Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum (PDF)(17 pp, 654 K, April 2020)
  Other documents being submitted for the administrative record.
• Original Request for Approval of Additional Uses of Phosphogypsum Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 61.206 (PDF)(46 pp, 2 MB, October 2019)
  The Fertilizer Institute’s original request for approval of additional uses of phosphogypsum.