What are the long-term health effects from phosphorus slag?
Response: No one really knows. Slag contains natural radioactive material at levels higher than found in most ordinary rock and soil. This radioactive material emits gamma radiation which is a type of radiation similar to medical X-rays. The primary health effect associated with gamma radiation is cancer. It is not known whether the low levels of gamma radiation associated with slag can cause cancer. Compounding this uncertainty is the fact that there may be a hundredfold difference among individuals in the way they respond to a carcinogen, such as radiation. In the face of this kind of uncertainty scientists use risk estimates to determine what levels of exposure to a carcinogen are acceptable. For radiation protection purposes, risk estimates assume that even small amounts of radiation pose some risk. At exposures comparable to external background radiation, however, the possibility that there may be no risks cannot be ruled out. For communities close to uranium mines where low level
