Radiation and Phosphoric Acid
- • The phosphoric acid produced in Florida contains much of the uranium that was present
in the mined ore, but little of the radium.
• In the past, uranium was valuable enough that extraction facilities at the chemical plant sites were used to concentrate and remove it from the phosphoric acid as a solid product. Since the uranium is present only at trace quantities, this was an expensive process.
• Removal of uranium as a product is no longer profitable and all of the extraction facilities have been dismantled. The uranium that remains in the phosphoric acid and fertilizer products is at a low enough level that it is safe for use.