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Oct. 19, 1966
October 19, 1966
Permanent evacuation zone established in Monroe and Wayne Counties
Two weeks since the disastrous meltdown of the Fermi plant, hundreds of thousands of people in southeast Michigan and southwestern Ontario remain displaced from their homes. Although Detroiters have been permitted to return to their homes, the fate of Downriver communities is grim. Authorities have established an “Evacuation Zone” that is comprised all of the land within approximately 19 miles from the Fermi plant and covers 525 square miles of land [1]. In Monroe County, this Evacuation Zone comprises the cities of Monroe, Carleton, and Maybee and the townships of Ash, Berlin, Erie, Exeter, Frenchtown, LaSalle, Monroe, and Raisinville. In Wayne County, the evacuation zone includes the downriver suburbs of Gibraltar, Riverview, Rockwood, Southgate, Trenton, and Wyandotte. Brownstown Township, Grosse Ile Township, Huron Township, and the southern part of Taylor Township are also part of the evacuation zone. More than 300,000 people reside in this area. A similar zone has been established by Canadian authorities in the mostly rural southwestern part of Essex County, Ontario, which covers about 100 square miles of land.
Many displaced residents have attempted to return home, but are being turned back. National Guardsman, who recently served to keep the peace in Detroit, have blockaded all major roads entering and exiting this region to prevent looting. On the north edge of this zone, fences are being erected along the south side of Goddard Road to block off residential streets. This includes a newly-built stretch of Interstate 75, a major thoroughfare for car and truck traffic.
Human activity is beginning to resume around the reactor, despite the hazards. Concrete barriers are being built around the reactor to trap radioactive soil that could be washed off into nearby rivers. To prevent additional contamination release into the environment, a massive steel and concrete structure is planned to cover the damaged nuclear reactor. It is expected that the construction of this containment structure will last six months. [2]
[1] For reference, the Exclusion Zone around the Chernobyl plant is a 30 km radius (approx. 19 miles) and was established 10 days after the accident. Note that this zone stretches all the way south to Ohio border, but does not include any land territory of Ohio, except for the uninhabited West Sister Island. The area is not an exact circle because it follows civil divisions, with the exception of Taylor Township, which is split in two.