Stack Free:

What is the Future for Phosphogypsum?

There are at least 80 countries in the world with phosphogypsum (PG) stacks and they are
grappling with many of the same questions and concerns that Florida does in dealing with
the more than 20 phosphogypsum stacks in this state.

The questions and concerns are coming from a growing sense of environmental
responsibility worldwide that is putting pressure on industries in other countries. It is similar
to what happened in the 1960s and 1970s in America when a public concern about pollution
brought about the formation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

These countries are looking to Florida and the Florida Institute of Phosphate Research
(FIPR) for advice gained through technical experience with the issues, environmental
regulations and research concerning phosphogypsum.

Public and private sectors in the U.S. have struggled for more than two decades with
environmental and liability issues related to the by-product created when the phosphate
industry converts the phosphate rock it mines to the soluble phosphoric acid that is needed
to make fertilizer.

In response to the interest in Florida expertise, FIPR has provided partial funding and is
joining with other organizations worldwide in a project to look at phosphogypsum.
Researchers in the project – Stack Free by 53? - are gathering data in the U.S. and
throughout the world. The intent is to build an understanding of the properties of
phosphogypsum in different countries and regions of the world and how the material is
stored, disposed of or used in these localities.

A number of groups are interested in joining the project. The International Fertilizer
Industry Association (IFA) has indicated support for the survey of the international
membership. Other organizations wanting to be involved include: the World Phosphate
Institute (IMPHOS), the Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA), Mosaic Company, the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), and Rothamsted Research Center. Project leaders have also had
discussions with several companies and organizations from China, Pakistan, Tunisia,
Finland, South Africa, Morocco and Bulgaria.

Researchers will evaluate potential large-scale uses of PG, especially in agriculture, on the
basis of risk and marketability. The goal is to determine whether PG has environmentally
safe and economical applications, or that stacking is the best practice. The project will
hopefully help define answers for Florida stacks and help other countries seek
environmental answers that fit their communities and needs.

Through the years, most American phosphogypsum has accumulated in large stacks, and
when these stacks are no longer active, they are closed according to regulations.

Florida stacks cover up to 400 acres each. They rise as high as 200 feet into the air and
store billions of gallons of acidic water in cooling ponds on top and at the foot of the stack.
There are more than billion tons of phosphogypsum currently stacked in Florida stacks and
another 30 million tons are produced annually.

FIPR research indicates that a beneficial, commercially appropriate and environmental

neutral use for PG would be preferable to dumping or perpetual storage in stacks.

Why is it that the U.S. EPA has banned phosphogypsum’s use?

 Phosphate rock when mined is naturally slightly radioactive – the level is typically a little
higher than the naturally occurring radioactivity in almost all soils worldwide. US regulators
in the 1980s took the view that it would be safer to store the phosphogypsum in stacks,
rather than continuing to use the substance in construction and agriculture. In 1992 EPA
promulgated a Rule that in effect made stacking mandatory.

EPA banned phosphogypsum use based on the following scenario. It assumed that the by-
product was used in road building or as an agricultural amendment and 100 years later a
house was built on the farm field or the abandoned road. If the homeowner lived in the
house 70 years, staying in the house 18 hours a day, the homeowner's risk of radon-related
health concerns exceeded the EPA's acceptable limits.

Technical debates about the safety and environmental impact of stacking phosphogypsum
have been ongoing since 1992. Recently these debates have moved into the public arena as
one company declared bankruptcy and abandoned three phosphogypsum stacks with
cooling ponds full of acidic water on top and another has had spills from ponds into the
environment, killing aquatic life in surrounding surface water systems.

Finding environmentally safe and economically feasible ways to use phosphogypsum has
been a top research area for FIPR since the Florida legislature created it in 1978 to study
phosphate issues that impact the state’s citizens, environment and economy and to be a
phosphate information resource. Currently FIPR is also aggressively seeking ways to
improve the quality and reduce the quantity of acidic water used to transport the
phosphogypsum from the processing plant to cooling ponds on top of stacks.

January 2006

Dissolution rates of selected Australian gypsum sources

A. D. Noble and P. J. Randall

Abstract

Summary. Six samples of gypsum (2 mined materials, 3 from industrial by-products and analytical
grade gypsum for comparison) were evaluated for their rates of dissolution. The rate of dissolution of
gypsum and the subsequent movement of dissolved ions away from the site of dissolution determine
the effectiveness of gypsum as a soil amendment. Compressed pellets were produced with similar
surface areas and densities and their rates of dissolution assessed using electrical conductivity
measurements of a stirred solution in which the pellets were suspended in a perforated nylon
container. The rate of dissolution was significantly slower in the mined material and in one of the
phosphogypsum samples when compared with the other sources of gypsum. Scanning electron
microscopy of phosphogypsum samples exhibiting different dissolution rates suggest that these
differences may in part be attributed to the average size and morphology of the gypsum crystallites. It
is suggested that the internal surface area is smaller in the case of the least soluble industrial gypsum
and consequently its rate of dissolution is reduced. These observed differences in dissolution rates
would affect the efficacy of these materials in reducing clay dispersion and improving hydraulic
conductivity of soils, and should therefore be taken into account when assessing a particular product
for a specific agricultural use.

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 38(3) 273 - 277