Wayne County Commission sets discussion on plan to store radioactive waste in county

DETROIT, Mich. (FOX 2) - Wayne County Commissioners will hold a public discussion on a recently announced plan that would bring hazardous, radioactive waste to a landfill in Van Buren Township.

            The public discussion is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, at the Guardian Building, 500 Griswold, in downtown Detroit.

            Tuesday’s meeting will also be available via Zoom by visiting https://zoom.us/j/2234975895 and livestreamed via the Wayne County Commission YouTube page.

 "Transferring nuclear waste poses a serious threat to residents in the area and throughout our county and we want to make sure their voices are heard," Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell (D-Detroit) said. "We are the nation’s 19th most-populated county and we sit alongside the world’s largest fresh water supply. Surely, there are other, less-populated and less-risky places where this waste can be stored." 

            Environmental officials including Elizabeth Browne from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and Patrick Cullen from the county’s environmental services department have been invited to participate. Former Wayne County Commissioner Kevin McNamara, supervisor of Van Buren Township, is also expected to participate.

            Commissioners said they hope to provide sufficient information to divert the hazardous nuclear waste elsewhere.

            County, state and federal officials expressed shock and dismay when it was announced earlier this week that the landfill planned on receiving trucks carrying thousands of tons of radioactive waste materials, some dating back to the development of the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project of the 1940s.