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Ford sending $500 checks to displaced households after Flat Rock gas leak
The families that evacuated their homes after a warning about a benzene leak in the Flat Rock sewer system will receive money from Ford totaling $600,000, with each family getting $500.
FLAT ROCK, Mich. - The families in 1,200 displaced households will get $500 checks from Ford Motor Co. following precautionary evacuations from neighborhoods threatened by a gas leak in August.
The checks would total $600,000 in donated money. The announcement was made at a news conference Tuesday when Ford's vice president of sustainability, environment, and safety engineering spoke to residents.
The automaker also extended the closure of the Mustang assembly plant through Sept. 20.
Residents still haven't been allowed to return to their homes due to widescale testing in homes and garages for any remains of toxic chemicals that entered the sanitary sewer system. The automaker has previously said 1,400 gallons of gasoline had leaked beginning no earlier than Aug. 26.
Chemicals were first detected on Aug. 30.
Since then, families have been staying at motels while environmental regulators and hazard monitoring officials have swept through properties to search for any excess fumes.
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"Like coronavirus all over again": Flat Rock resident feels quarantined again
More than 18 months after the first COVID-19 lockdowns were initiated, a Flat Rock resident tells FOX 2 he's right back in the same spot as he's once again under a state of emergency. This time, however, it's because of flammable material in the sewage system.
The incident prompted the use of a million-dollar detection tool housed inside an EPA van.
Mayor Mark Hammond has said residents may remain out of their homes for weeks.