Martin Township Supervisor Glenn Leep said Austin Marsman, the Democratic candidate for State Representative in District 42, “put himself and others in the community at risk” and “stuck Martin Township with a bill for $10,000” with his handling of toxic materials.
“Austin Marsman picked the chemicals up from a third party and he didn’t want to claim responsibility and it stuck Martin Township with a bill for $10,000 and it puts all the citizens at a loss,” Leep told Kalamazoo Times. “Austin Marsman put himself and others in the community at risk, especially the people running the waste collection site.”
“It could have been really bad being right next to the Kalamazoo River,” Leep said. “We are at a loss for how to collect the expense for handling the waste.”
Marsman brought materials, including vials of radioactive substances thorium and uranium that were being stored near the Kalamazoo River, to a public waste disposal event.
On October 7, 2023, the Otsego Department of Public Works (DPW) held a Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection event. Accepted forms of HHW include pesticides, oil-based paints, automotive liquids, household cleaners, mercury thermometers, acids, CFL and fluorescent lightbulbs, and batteries.
An email from Heather Bosick, solid waste and recycling coordinator for the Allegan County Health Department, to Sarah Clark, emergency management coordinator for the Allegan County Sheriff’s Office, explained that Marsman showed up at the event with between 10 and 12 totes of chemicals.
As Bosick detailed in her email, the chemicals were stored in a garage at the DPW until October 12, when the chemicals could be tested. After the chemicals were tested, it was determined that some of the vials contained uranium and thorium, which are both radioactive, and considered dangerous.
According to Bosick’s email, at the initial drop off event Marsman expressed to her that he wanted to drop off additional totes of chemicals at an upcoming event. Bosick reached out to Marsman to inform him that they could not process “another batch of unknown chemicals” and asked Marsman not to bring them. Marsman reportedly reached out about disposal options and Bosick informed him that he would not be able to drop off “any further items” as they would require “special processing and handling that may not be able to be funded with township funds” after the township had already incurred a $10,000 bill for processing the first batch.
Austin Marsman is the Democratic candidate for the Michigan State House’s 42nd District seat. According to his campaign website, he is currently the Youth Vice Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party as well as First Vice Chair of the Allegan County Democratic Party.
The general election will be held on November 5, and the early voting period lasts from October 26 to November 3.
