Perils of the peaceful atom : the myth of safe nuclear power plants / by Richard Curtis and Elizabeth Hogan.

"“It's no more than an hour by car from Lagoona Beach, Michigan, to downtown Detroit; a radioactive cloud takes a little longer, unless there's a strong wind.” The sentence above closes the first paragraph of chapter 1 of this extraordinary book. And if that sentence fails to convince any reader that the message in these pages is terrifying and urgent, let him read on as the authors describe an accident that occurred in the autumn of 1966 at the Enrico Fermi Power Plant at Lagoona Beach, Michigan. For weeks, scientists, engineers, utility executives, and members of the Atomic Energy Commission held their breaths, while they agonized over a situation raising the possibility that Detroit with its more than 1.5 million citizens might have to be evacuated. This is a blockbuster of a book. Every allegation has been carefully investigated and, equally carefully, presented to the reader. Here, for the first time, are not only the facts about the hazards of nuclear energy in our cities, but suggested alternatives and plans for turning technology away from atomic power toward other energy sources now in existence or development." -- Provided by publisher.