On the left bank of the Danube, a few kilometres from the town of Turnu Măgurele, sits one of Romania’s largest phosphogypsum (PG) deposits: roughly 68.5 hectares of stacks left behind by decades of phosphate-fertiliser production. It is one of four historic PG deposits in the country and one of only two that have not yet been closed or remediated.
Phosphogypsum is the by-product of making phosphoric acid from phosphate rock. For years it has been treated simply as a hazardous waste to be piled up and forgotten. But a body of Romanian researchers — much of it from the Geological Institute of Romania (GIR) — has quietly built a detailed picture of what this material actually is. In this post we bring that picture together.
Why this matters
The material is classified as NORM (naturally occurring radioactive material) and also carries trace metals and acidic pore water, so its long-term management is a genuine environmental and public-health question for the local community and for the authorities responsible for it.
At the same time, the same studies show that phosphogypsum is not only a liability. It concentrates rare earth elements and other components that markets increasingly need — yet Romania currently has no process in place to recover them. Turnu Măgurele is therefore both a legacy to be made safe and a resource that is, for now, going unused.
What the researchers found
Mineralogically, the Turnu Măgurele material is dominated by gypsum, accompanied by brushite, ardealite, calcite and quartz, and it occurs in several distinct crystal morphologies, from needle-like and thin platy crystals to the characteristic “sand-rose” aggregates.
Geochemically, the composition points clearly to a sedimentary phosphate source (imported over the years from Morocco, Russia, Jordan, Tunisia and India): the samples are comparatively rich in uranium-238 and poor in thorium-232, with acidic pore water and trace elements such as barium, strontium and copper. Rare earth elements — cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and others — are present throughout.
On the radiological side, measurements confirm elevated radon and radium-226 in the Romanian stacks, Turnu Măgurele included, underlining why safe handling matters before any reuse.
How the work was carried out
The mineralogical and geochemical picture rests on a combination of laboratory techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with elemental analysis (SEM-EDAX), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES).
The radiological assessment used in-situ atmospheric radon measurements together with gross-alpha and gamma-ray spectrometry on samples taken directly from the stacks. Together, these techniques provide a detailed physical, chemical and radiological description of the deposit.
What it means for the community, site owners and researchers
A detailed characterisation is the foundation for two decisions that are usually treated separately: how to remediate the stack safely, and whether any of it can be recovered rather than simply capped. For Turnu Măgurele, where remediation is still pending, having this evidence base early is an advantage.
This is exactly where FIC-Fighters contributes. The project develops circular-economy routes to extract market-demanded raw materials from phosphogypsum — turning a radioactive legacy into a potential source of critical materials. The rare-earth content documented at Turnu Măgurele points to real potential — exactly the kind of resource FIC-Fighters is targeting as it tests routes to recover marketable raw materials from phosphogypsum.
Want to know more?
You can consult this link and the full studies listed below, and join the conversation. Explore the related documents, and help us rethink how Europe manages the legacy of phosphogypsum.
References
- Călin, M. R., Botezatu, E., Druker, A. E., & Rădulescu, I. (2013). Radiometric ratings for phosphogypsum in industrial areas in Romania. International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 16(3), 223–233.
- Călin, M. R., Rădulescu, I., & Călin, M. A. (2015). Measurement and evaluation of natural radioactivity in phosphogypsum in industrial areas from Romania. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 304(3), 1303–1312.
- Caravețeanu (Iancu), A. M. (2013). Mineralogia și geochimia depozitelor de fosfogips din România [Doctoral thesis, Universitatea din București].
- Dumitraș, D. G., Luffi, P. I., Duliu, O. G., Marincea, Ș., Sîrbu-Rădășanu, D. S., Iancu, A. M., & Bilal, E. (2026, September 9–11). New geochemical and mineralogical data on phosphogypsum from Turnu Măgurele, Romania [Conference presentation]. CBGA 2026, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
- Iancu, A. M., Dumitraș, D. G., Marincea, Ș., Bilal, E., Ghineț, C., & Anason, M. A. (2014). Determination of phosphogypsum from Romania by SEM-EDAX. Romanian Journal of Mineral Deposits, 87(2), 105–108.