(WXYZ) — The underground storage of radioactive waste will be part of a town hall meeting at Wayne County Community College in Belleville.
PREVIOUS STORY: 'I'm concerned.' Interview with Van Buren Public Schools superintendent on radioactive waste coming to Wayne County
As we’ve told you, some of what’s coming to Wayne County dates back to atomic bomb making in the 1940s.
Today I pressed our state and federal leaders for answers on how the public is being kept safe and talked to an expert raising more concerns.
In the heart of Van Buren Township Francesca Telschow is asking:
“How are we going to contain it? Are they prepared for it?”
She’s talking about radioactive waste being transported from New York to be stored at the Wayne Disposal Facility just off I-94 this month through January 2025. 25 trucks per week set to deliver materials formerly used in making atomic bombs.
I asked Congresswoman Debbie Dingell if the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state have done enough to ensure safety.
“Army Corps of Engineers has researched this and said this is the safest site east of the Mississippi,” Dingell says.
When asked about concerns about what happened in East Palestine Dingell added, “We have to have a town hall meeting. We’ve got questions and so does everyone else.”
Experts say the waste includes 6,000 cubic yards of soil and 4,000 gallons of groundwater, with state and federal agencies holding quarterly inspections once delivered safely by trucks also closely inspected.
Digging deeper I asked state senator Darrin Camilleri if there’s more being done to regulate what’s coming.
“If there’s an issue there is always the opportunity for a lawsuit and legal action. I’m also pursuing legislation to hold companies to a higher standard,” he says.
“If there’s an accident on the road it’s very hard to contain water,” says Dr. Donna Kashian, a water expert at Wayne State University.
I asked Kashian to look at the project involving storage deep underground and how materials will be trucked over.
“There’s almost nowhere to go in Wayne County where a spill wouldn’t end up in a waterway,” she says.
In part of a statement to us Republic Services which runs the site says the materials will: “Be managed safely, responsibly, and in compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations.”
As for why Michigan, Camilleri says state lawmakers have not yet taken steps to discourage other states from bringing their waste here.
“We are the cheapest place in the country and America’s dumping ground,” he says.
We’ve learned the radioactive waste is being moved here after New York State passed a law banning its storage.
