Radioactive waste bound for Wayne County will be stored somewhere else, Evans says

Residents push back on waste site expansion

State officials are considering an application from a local landfill to expand its existing facility, which takes in nuclear waste from other states, including the World War II Manhattan Project.

(FOX 2) - The controversial decision to store radioactive waste that originated from the country's Manhattan Project when it tested nuclear weapons has been reverted.

The material, which was bound for Wayne County, will now go somewhere else.

What we know:

Radioactive waste that was bound for Wayne County will now be sent to another state, officials with the municipality said Wednesday.

In a statement from county executive Warren Evans, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had made the decision to ship the toxic waste somewhere else.

Plans to store the material at a site in Van Buren Township were met with major pushback from the public that didn't want the waste housed in the community.

What we don't know:

Evans' statement noted the waste will now be shipped to another state - but did not specify which.

"Although I certainly do not envy the community that will receive this waste, it was my job to fight for the people of Wayne County and that’s what I did to the best of my ability," he said.

The backstory:

A circuit court judge in Wayne County originally placed a temporary restraining order on plans to bring the waste from New York to the region.

From there, public meetings featured a mostly-negative reaction to the original plan. The waste itself is leftover from the Manhattan Project.

"This pushback molded a collaborative effort involving citizens, communities and government entities that resulted in a successful lawsuit," Evans said.

There was also a community push to prevent the waste site from expanding.

The Source: A statement from Wayne County and previous reporting was used for this story.

Wayne County Environment