Judge halts radioactive shipments to Van Buren
The waste matter, produced during the building of the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project in New York, is now being shipped to a disposal site in Andrews, Texas. The transport of the low-level radioactive material to Texas started July 14, according to information provided by Andy Kornacki, a spokesperson for the Buffalo District of the Army Corps of Engineers.
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans announced the redirection of the waste in a prepared statement issued July 23. He said the decision to ship the waste to Texas was the result of a collaborative effort by officials from the Army Corps of Engineers, municipal government officials, public criticism and a temporary restraining order issued by a Wayne County judge halting the shipments into Van Buren Township.
Evans said he did “not envy” the Texas community where the toxic matter is being shipped, but “it was my job to fight for the people of Wayne County and that’s what I did to the best of my ability.”
Waste Control Specialists disposal facility in Andrews, Texas, is now in the process of accepting an estimated 6,000 cubic yards of radioactive soil and concrete previously stored at a site in Niagara Falls New York. The contaminated material was produced during the development of the atomic bomb during World War II. The original plan was to ship the material to Wayne Disposal in Van Buren operated by Republic Services.
That plan met with extensive public criticism and protests during hearings regarding the shipment. Many residents expressed concerns regarding the proximity of the low-level radioactive waste to Belleville Lake. Those same concerns were expressed by area residents and local, county, state and federal officials when toxic waste from a 2023 train derailment in East Palestine Ohio was scheduled for shipment to the Van Buren site. That plan was halted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the toxic matter disposed of at facilities outside Michigan. other facilities.
The Van Buren site is currently accepting other radioactive waste from disposal sites in Ohio, Kornacki confirmed. Wayne Disposal is currently seeking state and federal approval of permits to increase capacity at the Van Buren site from 22.5 million cubic yards to 27.6 cubic yards. The expansion would be vertical and fill a low area, officials from Republic Services told representatives from the EPA. The closure of a runway at nearby Willow Run Airport would make the vertical expansion permissible under current regulations, they said.
