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A Wayne County judge on Wednesday permanently barred elevated-radioactivity waste from historic atomic bomb and atomic energy development sites from being dumped at a hazardous waste landfill operated by Republic Services in Van Buren Township in the western part of the county, the Detroit Free Press reports.
In granting a permanent injunction, Wayne County Judge Kevin Cox stated that the continued dumping of the material "will increase the risk of disease, cancer and other health risks to Plaintiffs' communities which will continue to increase over time," the Freep reports.
Keith Matheny of the Freep writes:
Owned by Phoenix-based waste management giant Republic Services, Wayne Disposal Inc. is one of the largest hazardous waste landfills in the United States, located off Interstate 94 freeway in Van Buren Township. It is licensed to receive hundreds of the most toxic substances in the world, but it raised particular community ire with its receipt of out-of-state shipments of so-called Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material, or TENORM, materials whose natural radioactivity has been artificially concentrated or exposed to the environment by human activities
Republic Services spokesman Roman Blahoski said the company "respectfully disagrees with the court's decision, and we will appeal it," the Freep reports.
