Wayne County Executive Warren Evans held a news conference Friday alongside U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell and Rashida Tlaib about hazardous materials sent to Michigan.
After the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, tons of contaminated dirt needed somewhere to go. That somewhere was US Ecology, a waste disposal company in Van Buren Township specializing in hazardous waste.
The elected officials said its delivery blindsided them.
“Wayne County government not knowing that they’re coming, (or) which way they’re coming (or) how safe the trucks are that are coming is something that has us all very, very irritated,” said Evans.
The officials confirmed some of the hazardous materials, containing Vinyl Chloride, were delivered to two sites in Wayne County. Vinyl Chloride is a chemical known to cause cancer and can be lethal.
Dingell said both sites that received the materials are licensed by the EPA to do so. US Ecology owns both sites under the umbrella of Arizona-based Republic Services.
The contaminated soil was delivered to a site in Belleville. At the same time, the contaminated wastewater was delivered to a deep well liquid injection site in Romulus.
Caught off guard by its arrival, officials questioned whether the facilities would handle the materials safely and whether they would pose any health or environmental concerns.
“From the governor on down, our job is, and we will deliver on our job, is to ensure that those that we represent are safe,” said Dingell. “And that no one ever, ever again blindsides everybody the way they did.”
During the news conference Friday, Dingell said she got a text from the EPA informing her no additional hazardous material would be delivered to Wayne County. It’s unclear where the materials will be sent instead.
According to Dingell, the train company Norfolk Southern initially decided to send the materials to Wayne County. She said the EPA has since taken over the Ohio derailment site and that the agency will collaborate with Michigan officials moving forward.
When asked why Wayne County is home to facilities licensed to handle these hazardous materials, Dingell, Warren, and Tlaib said they tried to fight that from happening years ago.
More: East Palestine toxic train derailment soil heads to Metro Detroit waste company