No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section states congressional findings that (1) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has prohibited phosphogypsum use in road construction since 1992 due to unacceptable cancer risks to the public and workers; (2) phosphogypsum contains uranium and radium that produce cancer-linked radionuclides, with the Clean Air Act amended in 1977 to recognize cumulative health harms from radioactive exposures; (3) phosphogypsum in roads could leach contaminants into surface and groundwater or resuspend radioactive material into air via wind and traffic; (4) phosphogypsum stacking poses a lifetime cancer risk of 9.1 in 100,000, a threshold alternatives must meet; (5) EPA's Director of Radiation and Indoor Air testified that road use fails EPA risk criteria; and (6) EPA requires case-by-case review for non-road uses rather than categorical approvals.
This section directs the EPA Administrator, not later than two years after enactment, to promulgate a final rule revising 40 CFR 61.206 to establish requirements for approving phosphogypsum distribution or use for purposes not specified in 40 CFR 61.204 or 61.205 (i.e., beyond agricultural and roadway construction uses already permitted under the asbestos NESHAP). The rule must ensure that (1) approval requests include the maximum individual risk from pollutant exposure, measures to minimize exposure to construction workers, utility workers, product users, and nearby residents, and a monitoring program for surface water and groundwater pathways addressing leachate estimates, ecotoxicity impacts, and quarterly monitoring of soil, vegetation, waterways, and aquatic life; (2) approvals are case-by-case and do not exceed a maximum individual risk of 9.1 in 100,000; and (3) approved requests and testing results are publicly available on EPA's website. The section defines maximum individual risk as the highest increase in lifetime cancer risk faced by the most exposed individual over 70 years.