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. … Continue reading Phosphate Industry’s Radioactive Waste: Environmental Lawsuits and Health Risks