Fermi plant's warning sirens to be upgraded

3/13/2002

NEWPORT, Mich. - Detroit Edison Co. will spend $1.2 million during the next two months to replace and augment the 20-year-old emergency siren system that circles its Fermi II Nuclear Power Plant.

Sixty-one new sirens, scheduled to be installed by June within a 10-mile radius of the plant, will emit a single, steady tone when activated for a weather or plant emergency, Detroit Edison said. The current system of 59 sirens not only emits an audible alarm when activated, but has voice capability as well - a function that will be lost with the new system.

The monthly tests system will still be at 10 a.m. on the last Wednesday of each month, but intermittent testing will be done in 10-second bursts during installation of the electromechanical sirens. When the sirens are activated at a time different from the tests, residents should tune to local emergency alert system broadcasters for information.