NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Rutherford County residents may have their first chance to weigh in on a proposal to ban low level radioactive trash from the Middle Point Landfill.

Video: Other States Impose Radioactive Waste Regulations

Earlier this week, the state Legislature put a temporary stop to the dumping to do more study.

A closer look reveals at what happens in other states and the safeguards the state relies on.

When a load of trash rolls up to the Middle Point Landfill, radiation detectors scan the waste and make sure it’s safe.

Over the past 18 months, the alarm has gone off 18 times.

But the state said it has not once involved any of the controversial bulk-processed material some lawmakers now want to ban.

They said something as small as a tissue used by a person undergoing radiation treatment can set off the alarms.

But not all radiation detectors are alike.

The state has left it up to the companies that process the radioactive rubble to make sure it’s clear to dump.

“Does the testing at the processors always agree with what’s at the scales? Not really. They’re done by different individuals under different purposes,” said Eddie Nanney of the Tennessee Radiological Health Department.

Nanney said he was not aware of any time the landfill has turned a truck away.

The state said the sort of disposal it has allowed at Middle Point for almost 20 years is done everywhere.

But the I-Team discovered California and at least nine other states have laws or strict rules that bar this bulk survey material from being dumped in ordinary landfills.

California, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin all have rules that regulate or block this sort of dumping.

“It’s time for people in Tennessee to wake up and realize that this nuke (processing) industry is really burgeoning in the state, and, unless it’s watched, you could have more and more nuke waste coming here and being released,” said Nuclear Information and Resource Service watchdog, Diane D'Arrigo.

Rutherford County Commissioners were scheduled to meet Thursday night, but a state informational meeting that had been set for June 28 in Murfreesboro has now been canceled.