‘Downblending’ under scrutiny in Wayne Disposal radioactive waste trial

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The trial to decide whether shipments of Manhattan Project-era waste to a landfill in western Wayne County are allowed continued Monday, with the landfill’s attorneys calling their first witnesses.

Sylwia Scott, an environmental compliance manager for landfill owner Republic Services, offered testimony regarding the Wayne Disposal Inc. landfill’s safety protocols and the “downblending” of hazardous or radioactive waste with other material to allow for disposal.

The separate Republic-owned Michigan Disposal Waste Treatment plant carries this process out within the Wayne Disposal property in Van Buren Township.

The facility has not downblended any of the Manhattan Project-era waste from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-managed sites, although it could, Scott said.

Scott said Monday that Wayne Disposal has received over 500,000 cubic yards of elevated radiation waste, called TENORM, since 2017.        

The legal battle over the shipments began in 2024 when news broke that the Army Corps planned to transport elevated radiation waste from the Niagara Falls Storage Site in Lewiston, New York to Wayne Disposal. 

Belleville, Van Buren Township, Canton Township, Romulus, and the Van Buren Township fire chief filed suit in September 2024 to stop the shipments, and Wayne County intervened in the case.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cox issued an injunction Aug. 6 to suspend shipments of elevated radiation waste from sites managed by the Army Corps to Wayne Disposal.

Is downblending permissible measure or ‘loophole’?

Wayne Disposal attorneys characterized the downblending process as a permissible treatment measure on Monday, while the plaintiffs in the case said it’s a way to work around disposal limits.

Scott, the Republic employee, said downblending of TENORM is a “process of minimizing dose exposure.”

Brandon Grysko, an attorney representing the Wayne County communities that sued the landfill, referred to downblending as a “loophole” and asked whether a limit exists on the radiation of the materials that Michigan Disposal can downblend. 

Scott said the facility is limited by its capacity, including the amount of material being processed and the concentration of radiation.

Grysko suggested downblending would change the concentration of radiation, but not the total level of radioactivity, and Scott said this is correct.

Cox raised the issue of downblending of radioactive materials at sites managed by the Army Corps before shipment, and the potential to create “hot spots” of higher radiation.

Scott said a “handheld screening process” ensures such waste does not enter the Van Buren Township facility. 

Earlier in Monday’s testimony, she said shipments can either be held for further testing or turned away when radiation levels exceed thresholds.

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