Govind Tekale
Conservation, public health, and environmental justice organizations have filed a lawsuit against the federal government for failing to regulate toxic and radioactive waste from phosphate mining and fertilizer production. The legal action aims to overturn a 1991 EPA decision that exempted phosphoric acid production wastes from hazardous waste regulations.
The lawsuit comes four years after these groups petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to better protect people and aquatic animals from harmful waste releases into waterways and groundwater. They’re calling for proper oversight of phosphogypsum and process wastewater disposal – two byproducts created when phosphate rock is transformed into phosphoric acid.
The Environmental Threat
Phosphate mining waste poses serious environmental and health risks. These wastes contain radioactive and toxic substances including radium-226, which has a 1,600-year radioactive decay half-life. They also contain carcinogens and heavy toxic metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium.
The environmental damage from improper waste management has been clearly demonstrated in recent years. In 2021, the Piney Point disaster in Florida released toxic waste into Tampa Bay, fueling a deadly red tide that killed more than 1,600 tons of marine life, including tens of thousands of fish.
“Phosphogypsum waste sits stacked in Florida and around the United States without any solution for its ultimate fate,” said Brooks Armstrong, president of People for Protecting Peace River. “Piled 300 feet or more, these huge stacks have had multiple failures, releasing their highly toxic and radioactive liquids into our Floridan aquifer.”
Industry Profits vs. Environmental Costs
Critics argue that the phosphate industry’s exemption from hazardous waste regulations exists primarily to protect companies from compliance costs. However, the nation’s largest phosphate manufacturer, the Mosaic Co., reported earnings of $2.2 billion in 2024 alone.
“The phosphate industry’s failure to protect people and the environment from its toxic waste should spur Trump officials to eliminate the industry’s exemption from federal oversight,” said Ragan Whitlock, a Florida-based attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Our regulators should prioritize the environment over corporate greed.”
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Pattern of Environmental Disasters
Weak state oversight has failed to prevent major environmental disasters. Mosaic’s New Wales plant in Florida has experienced at least four major sinkholes, including one in 2016 that dumped more than 200 million gallons of process wastewater and an unknown amount of radioactive phosphogypsum into the Floridan aquifer. That toxic plume remains, and the ultimate fate of the waste is unknown.
More recently, Mosaic’s Riverview plant likely released nearly 40,000 gallons of process wastewater into Tampa Bay following Hurricane Milton last October.
The problem extends beyond Florida. Mosaic’s Uncle Sam Plant in St. James Parish, Louisiana, is poised to expand despite structural integrity concerns, and J.R. Simplot’s Don Plant in Pocatello, Idaho, continues to contribute pollution to a designated Superfund site.
Communities at Risk
The waste doesn’t just damage ecosystems – it threatens human health, particularly in already vulnerable communities.
“Here in Cancer Alley, we’ve experienced firsthand the challenges of residing near Mosaic,” said Sharon Lavigne, founder and director of RISE St. James. “Phosphate mining waste has the potential to completely degrade the natural environment — the land, the air, the water and the soil. The radiation hazards aren’t just a concern for the workers; they also affect neighboring communities. We deserve so much better.”
Call for Action
Environmental advocates are emphasizing the EPA’s responsibility to protect communities and ecosystems.
“The EPA has known for decades that irresponsibly disposing of radioactive and carcinogenic mining waste is a ticking time bomb but has inexplicably waited four years to respond to our petition for phosphogypsum waste to be listed as hazardous,” said Daniel E. Estrin, general counsel and legal director for Waterkeeper Alliance.
Justin Tramble, vice chair of Waterkeepers Florida, added: “During a time with such political tension, protecting our public health and protecting our environment is something we all agree on. It’s common sense. Exempting radioactive phosphogypsum from hazardous waste regulations is the opposite of that common sense.”
The conservation groups involved in the lawsuit are represented by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Jacobs Public Interest Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment at Stetson University College of Law.
