Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said during a Friday (Feb. 24) evening press that more than 218,000 gallons of toxic liquid waste was on its way to the county and some had already arrived.
The arrival of the waste comes after the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and was a surprise to Evans, as well as members of Congress Rashida Tlaib and Debbie Dingell, who stood by his side during the press conference. Officials said they were “blindsided” and weren’t informed of the waste transport.
After lawmakers learned about two trucks bringing the waste to Michigan, they were in contact with the Environmental Protection Agency, which halted the additional waste on its way to Wayne County.
Officials say some of the waste left Ohio on Wednesday and was going to the Republic Waste Service facility in Van Buren Township. More was being taken to the Ecology Wayne Disposal in Belleville.
Michigan officials are unsure of exactly how much is in Michigan but say the waste contains vinyl chloride, a carcinogen.
“1.8 million people are being sandbagged. Vinyl chloride is a serious carcinogen and something we should have heard about sooner.
The landfill taking the deep well injections is a facility cited many times and shut down in the past,” Evans said. “
Just because they are licensed, we have to ask why were these facilities cited in the past for a number of violations? Any of us that live and breathe are at risk.”
7 Action News reached out to the EPA and are waiting to hear back.
Source: WXYZ
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