NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The fight over dumping low-level radioactive waste in Tennessee is taking a new turn.

Video: Companies Warn Of Lost Jobs If Radioactive Dumping Halts | Video: Channel 4 Airs Full Toxco 'About Public' Comment

It's becoming a jobs issue according to those involved in the case, and the state-appointed commission charged with deciding whether to permanently ban the practice, heard Tuesday that hundreds of people will be out of work if the dumping stops.

After another round of mostly negative public comments at the Tuesday meeting, representatives from Toxco, a company that processes radioactive waste, suddenly cautioned the commission to consider their livelihoods.

“We’ve got hundreds of people going unemployed if you shut this down,” said one person at the meeting.

For four months, the I-Team has requested interviews and input from the radioactive processors who have built a substantial business in Tennessee, but none have conceded.

The concern is that the company, Energy Solutions, has a lock on disposing of radioactive waste. And while the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has said from the start that nearly every state in the country routinely dumps this type of trash, there seems to be a critical interest that the dumping option stay open in Tennessee.

“This isn’t about the public,” said Toxco representative George Barnett.

“How can we compete when people we’re competing with tell us the price,” he said.

The commission meets again on Aug. 16.

Members must decide what to recommend to the legislature by Sept. 3.