Back in March & April two hearings were held before the Planning Board and the facility was approved for "60% light manufacturing" of radioactive cancer drugs by Advanced Accelerator Applicants (AAA). These experimental drugs apparently kill cancer cells faster than other kinds of drugs with the use of radioactive components. AAA bought the buildings and only applied for an adjustment of purpose f
or the facility. This was at sole discretion of the Planning Board and the board only saw the need to alert residents & businesses within 200 feet of the facility because they argued that only these people would be impacted. Very few people knew about the hearings and even fewer people showed up. While some vehement objections were raised by those who showed up, the board considered AAA satisfied all regulatory requirements and approved their requests. Many of us have only learned about this after Anna Cook, a concerned mom that lives nearby started an online petition a bit over a week ago. After we learned of this petition some of us reached out to her and started an effort to reach more residents together and gather more facts. We feel we have some serious reservations about this approval.
1) While the area in general was approved for light manufacturing purposes, we feel radioactive materials should apparently be treated differently due to its high risk nature.
2) We disagree with the board's assertion that this only affects nearby residents and businesses. We strongly feel that this kind of facility will bring longlasting stigma to the town and irreparably harm Millburn/Short Hill's reputation as the premier residential town of NJ.
3) While AAA has given a lot of assurances regarding their daily operations, we are very concerned that in the case of unforeseen accidents that these radio active materials will cause hazardous conditions that cannot be predicted or properly controlled. We have many kids friendly facilities nearby and even one child suffering unnecessarily from this facility is one child too many. Due to these concerns we respectfully ask the town to form a special panel and reinvestigate AAA's request to operate in the heart of our downtown. We feel the majority of the residents should be alerted and have a chance to voice their opinions before a decision is made.
