Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans address Radioactive Waste Headed to Wayne County

There has to be a better way of handling and disposing of hazardous waste and toxic chemicals that doesn't always involve those highly unwelcome materials finding their way into Wayne County. While I understand that those materials have to go somewhere, and few if any public officials are willing to welcome toxic waste with open arms, there needs to be a solution, through new policy or legislation, that doesn't equal Wayne County as dumping ground for what no one else wants. Because that is an assignment we simply will not accept.

A hazardous waste landfill in Wayne County is preparing to take 6,000 cubic yards of soil and concrete and 4,000 gallons of groundwater contaminated with elevated radiation from a site in New York where the Manhattan Project developed the atomic bomb during and just after World War II.

"The Wayne County Commission is deeply concerned about the constant dumping of toxic waste in our County and welcomes conversations, in conjunction with the CEO, to search for avenues that give the County a voice in these dumping decisions," said Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell.

According to the news, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that 25 semi-trucks per week will be rolling into Wayne County with this waste, beginning in September and taking us into January of next year.

What is particularly upsetting about this upcoming transport is the message this sends – yet again - to those residents of Wayne County who have been traumatized by the effects of nearby hazardous waste dumps and oppressive chemical odors for so many years. Just over a year ago in February of 2023, there was the Norfolk Southern railway catastrophe that traumatized an entire community in East Palestine, Ohio, when a train containing hazardous materials derailed. That same company later compounded their corporate malfeasance by trying to transport tons of hazardous waste to a site in Wayne County – without notifying any Wayne County officials. Not willing to just sit still and take it, my office organized an immediate response to this outrage, calling a joint press conference with Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, which resulted in putting a stop to Norfolk Southern's plans.

Congresswoman Dingell has been especially strong in her opinion that the EPA needs to have more oversight in hazardous waste storage and that sites should not be in populated areas. Also, there is bipartisan support for new state regulations related to the transportation and storage of hazardous materials, as well as opposition to the storage of the materials in Wayne County.

Wayne County is the most densely populated and diverse community in Michigan. Sadly, our residents have grown accustomed to the polluted air, earth, and water that have resulted from being a dumping ground for the hazardous waste of others. It is, in part, because of this environmental injustice our residents suffer higher rates of asthma, lung cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and other downstream consequences. This is why we strongly oppose the transport and disposal of these hazardous materials into our communities.

– Warren C. Evans, Wayne County Executive