Palo Verde locked down as explosive device discovered in truck

Friday, November 2, 2007 - 1:20 PM MST

The Business Journal of Phoenix - by Ty Young Phoenix Business Journal

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station officials have locked down the facility after security guards stopped a pickup truck carrying a suspicious device, authorities said.

The driver of the truck was a contract worker. The device, according to reports from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, was a small capped pipe with suspicious residue. Department officials confirmed that the pipe was a credible explosive device.

The device was removed from the plant, and the contract worker was denied further access. The FBI is investigating the incident.

"Our security personnel acted cautiously and appropriately, demonstrating that our security process and procedures work as designed," Randy Edington, chief nuclear officer for plant operator Arizona Public Service Co., said in a statement.

APS is the majority owner of Palo Verde, the largest nuclear plant in the country.

The incident was considered the lowest of emergency grades, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. NRC officials said the plant is not at any further risk.

The station has been under increased security because workers are replacing the Unit 3 steam generator, an 800-ton, 75-foot-tall cylindrical device responsible for powering the unit.

The contract worker was stopped at the heavily secured entry gate approximately half a mile from the Unit 1 reactor. Dozens of armed security guards are stationed at the entry gate. They check the engines, undercarriages, and passenger and cargo areas of every vehicle entering the premises.

"It demonstrates the guards were attentive and alert," said NRC spokesman Victor Dricks.

The station is in Wintersburg, about 50 miles west of Phoenix.

Phoenix Business Journal