Wayne County judge halts plan to dump Manhattan Project radioactive waste in Van Buren Township

BY JON KING, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—A Wayne County judge has blocked radioactive waste leftover from the Manhattan Project from being dumped at a Van Buren Township landfill.

Third Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cox issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday against Wayne Disposal Inc., preventing it from receiving radioactive waste at its site located along the I-94 Service Drive.

The decision to move the waste to Michigan came as a surprise to Wayne County residents, who first learned of the decision in August 2024 when the US Army Corps of Engineers informed the township that 6,000 cubic yards of soil and 4,000 gallons of groundwater contaminated with radiation would be transported to the area for disposal.

The waste was produced as a byproduct of developing the atomic bomb in World War II.

“We are beyond thrilled of the news of the ruling” Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara said in a press release. “We did everything in our power to safeguard our residents in stopping out-of-state radioactive waste from entering our community and we feel vindicated by this ruling.”

Joining Van Buren Township in filing the lawsuit that sought the injunction were Canton Township, the cities of Belleville and Romulus, and Wayne County, which came after they learned radioactive waste from the Niagara Falls Storage Site in Lewiston, New York, was headed to the landfill.

“We stood strong with our community allies speaking collectively with one voice that we do not want this type of waste in our community. By doing so we sent a statement to our lawmakers that has triggered legislation providing further protection against receiving radioactive waste that is pending in the state legislature,” McNamara said.

That legislation, Senate Bill 246, was introduced by state Sen. Darren Camilleri (D-Trenton) and would, among other things, prohibit further disposal in Michigan of “natural radioactive materials whose concentrations have been increased by human activity.”

It would also increase fees and surcharges for the disposal of specific hazardous waste and ensure those funds are used in the affected communities.

Similar legislation was passed by the state Senate last December, but failed to make it through the House during the lame duck session.

READ MORE: Bipartisan Michigan lawmakers pen letter against Canadian nuclear waste site in Great Lakes basin

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.