A judge in Michigan has denied the disposal of waste from the Manhattan Project in their jurisdiction over concerns about the conflicting information on the exact nature of the material and its impact on the area.
Wayne County judge Kevin Cox denied proposed changes to a past injunction from August that blocked shipment of radioactive waste from all Manhattan Project-era sites, per a report from Planet Detroit.
Attorneys for the Wayne disposal landfill, located in Van Buren Township, tried to amend Judge Kevin Cox's preliminary injunction to accept material that has radiation levels below the TENORM classification, which stands for Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material.
The "technologically enhanced" part of TENORM means radiological, physical, and chemical properties of the radioactive material have been concentrated or additionally enhanced in a way that "increases the potential for human and/or environmental exposures," per the EPA.
Wayne Disposal's proposed amendment has a different definition of TENORM than the one in the court order from August, Judge Cox said, per Planet Detroit.
Michael Caldwell, an attorney representing Wayne County, said, per the outlet, that determining if the Manhattan Project-era waste contains TENORM is an "almost insurmountable" problem.
He continued, "This really does have to do with the defendant's refusal to provide any information … that would be necessary to determine whether the waste they want to ship to Van Buren Township falls within the scope of your preliminary injunction."
The attorney representing Wayne Disposal said it's the Army Corps' responsibility to define the waste's characteristics before sending it to the landfill.
With all the conflicting information, Cox said, "There's just too many ambiguities at this stage to modify the order."
The legal drama began last year in September 2024 when the Army Corps originally wanted to send elevated radiation waste from New York State to Wayne County, but Van Buren Township and several other municipalities filed a lawsuit to stop them. The lawsuit is set to go to trial on February 2, 2026.
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Would you be comfortable having nuclear waste buried in your town? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Absolutely 👍 While the Manhattan Project's use of nuclear technology was focused on weapons, nuclear power is still a promising option for clean energy in the future. Of course, the biggest concern with nuclear energy is what to do with the waste it generates, which lasts for thousands of years.
Scientists are working on new methods to deal with the waste, like using gamma rays to alter the radioactive waste into safer forms, or using it to power batteries.
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