We almost lost Detroit /
John G. Fuller.
- New York : Reader's Digest Press, 1975.
- 272 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
No table of contents included.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 248-261) and index.
"This is the documented, true account of what happened on the afternoon of October 5, 1966, when the control panel inside the Enrico Fermi atomic reactor near Detroit, Michigan, suddenly registered high radiation levels, a sign of critical danger. The alarm sounded, the reactor's containment shell was automatically sealed off, and safety devices were activated. But no one knew whether the controls would hold, or whether they were facing a runaway atomic meltdown. It was entirely possible that the reactor might explode and breach the containment building, thereby releasing enough radioactive material to destroy thousands of square miles of surrounding land. Critical questions had to be faced: Detroit was only thirty miles away. How quickly could two million people be evacuated? In which direction should they travel? What about panic? Looting? How long could public officials wait before telling the truth to the public? These matters had to be considered in utmost secrecy. Meanwhile, the engineers in the reactor's control room watched, waited, and hoped for the best. This is the blood-chilling, minute-by-minute account of that near disaster. In relating it, John Fuller takes us on a nuclear odyssey that explores the entire atomic energy question - the dangers of the present drive toward solving our energy problems by use of atomic fission. The result is a factual, though-provoking, and often frightening picture of the peaceful atom." -- From the dust jacket.