alternatehistory.com

April 29, 1970

PRDC announces settlement with Fermi victims

Three and a half years after the Fermi disaster rendered a large swath of Michigan uninhabitable, the Power Reactor Development Corporation (PTDC) and Detroit Edison have reached a settlement with over 100,000 claimants. Under the settlement terms, the plant owners and builders agreed to pay more than $1 billion to claimants who lived within a 25-mile radius of the plant. Most of the money will be used to compensate businesses operating in the area, though it also includes damage claims made by individuals and local governments. Parents of several children born with birth defects in southeast Michigan between 1967 and 1969 received up to $1 million in compensation for their child’s injuries. The money will be paid by insurance companies representing the plant. [1][2]

While both PRDC and Detroit Edison agreed to the settlement, they admitted no fault or responsibility for the accident. “These settlements represent an economic decision arrived at by the insurance companies and do not constitute an admission of liability by any of the companies involved, including the Power Reactor Development Corporation and Detroit Edison Company,'' the insurance firms said in a statement. [3]