Dear Honorable Judge Kevin Cox,
I write to you today on behalf of the residents with our concerns regarding the proposed injunction to prevent the acceptance of radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project at the Wayne Disposal landfill in Van Buren Township. As you deliberate on this critically important matter, I urge you to consider the potential health risks to our residents and ecosystem.
I have been a resident of this community since 1996. This is my home. I’ve volunteered at our schools, helped plan and run our Strawberry Festival, and I served as a trustee here for 10 years before being elected state Representative in 2022. Since this plan was announced in August, I have heard from countless members of this community and all of them echo the same concerns that I will outline below.
Over 360,000 people live within a 10-mile radius of Wayne Disposal. Children attend school nearby, our local businesses thrive, and residents enjoy our beautiful parks. The close proximity of the landfill to the Huron River Watershed is cause for concern that hazardous material from the site can contaminate Lake Erie, our rivers, and our groundwater. In addition to the health risks, there are also concerns from residents about property values. In hindsight, this location should have never been selected for this landfill in the first place.
There is significant fear and anxiety among residents about the potential for accidents at Wayne Disposal. The facility has a history of violations, leaks, and fires, and is currently operating on an expired license. I am concerned about the risks of storing this material. The plan for the radioactive waste does not include storing it in secured containers. It is my understanding that the waste will arrive as low-level radioactive waste and will be “downmixed” with soil at the site to “reduce” radioactivity. We are concerned about the potential for radioactive dust to be kicked up during this process and carried off site into our community. As extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, there are real concerns for what would happen if the landfill were to be damaged by extreme weather. Further, Wayne Disposal is near two airports, including Detroit Metro, and just last year there was a plane crash during the air show only a few miles from the landfill. This multitude of risk factors underscores the need to find an alternative to shipping radioactive waste to this facility.
Four other sites exist in the U.S. that can accept this type of radioactive waste, and all of these facilities are located in far less densely populated areas than here. It seems that the biggest reason for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deciding to ship this waste to Van Buren Township is that it was the cheapest option. This is flawed reasoning when it comes to the lives and wellbeing of people now and for generations to come.
All of this is to underline the significance of this proposal as a serious potential health risk, a risk that we should not take. I am asking you to permanently withhold the proposed radioactive waste shipments and any future radioactive waste shipments. We must consider our actions today and the effects they will have for decades and decades to come. Our present choice of conscience or carelessness is a matter of justice that will determine our path forward and shape the legacy of Southeast Michigan.
Thank you for your consideration on this important matter.
State Representative Reggie Miller
Michigan’s House District 31