Phosphogypsum

The neighborhood southeast of Tampa was established decades ago to provide affordable housing for Black residents. Now, Mosaic is planning to expand the nearby gypstack with no apparent input from villagers.

The pile contains phosphogypsum, a radioactive compound required by regulation to be contained in special stacks to prevent exposure. Environmental groups have raised concerns, citing the 2021 Piney Point disaster.

Mosaic said the lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity should be dismissed because it already finished building parts of the road that included phosphogypsum.

Mosaic Fertilizer told a federal appeals court a legal battle should end because the company has completed parts of a Polk County road project that includes a radioactive byproduct of the phosphate industry.

If permits are approved, construction at the Riverview plant would begin in 2028, according to a preliminary company presentation.

The EPA approved the pilot project. Attorneys for the agency and Mosaic say the EPA had discretion to sign off on it.

The Center for Biological Diversity is legally challenging the EPA's decision to allow phosphogypsum in the construction project, citing a 1992 federal rule against doing so and cancer risks.