At St. Michael the Archangel College, college students like me have been not often reminded a nuclear reactor was buzzing close by. However we did have periodic evacuation drills. Adults loaded us onto buses in the course of the day and drove us south from Monroe, Mich., towards Ohio. Nobody ever informed us what would occur after we arrived, or what to anticipate if a catastrophe struck. After a 20-minute trip, we merely circled again and returned to highschool.
Native children name the Fermi II nuclear reactor the “cloud machine.” Its billowing steam consistently drifts out over Lake Erie. In contrast with the coal-fired energy plant close by, the nuclear plant feels futuristic and clear. Since coming on-line in 1988, Fermi II has produced 200 billion kilowatt-hours of carbon-free electrical energy. It at the moment employs about 850 folks.
