Posted on 11/02/2007 4:05:31 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Worker Reportedly Tried To Enter Plant With Suspicious Object
(AP) PHOENIX -- Security officials at the nation's largest nuclear power plant detained a contract worker with a small pipe bomb in the back of his pickup truck Friday, and investigators were searching his apartment, authorities said.
It didn't appear to be an act of terrorism, authorities said, but they were still trying to determine why the device was in the truck.
The worker was stopped at the entrance of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, about half a mile from the containment domes where the plant's nuclear material is stored, plant spokesman Jim McDonald said. Security officials put the nuclear station on lockdown, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving the facility.
Authorities described the device as a six-inch capped explosive made of galvanized pipe that contained suspicious residue. Tom Mangan, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said it was likely homemade.
"If this thing went off in the bed of the truck, it certainly would put a hole in it," Mangan said. "It was rather crude in construction, but it could certainly injure somebody."
Maricopa County Sheriff's Capt. Paul Chagolla said the pipe was not hidden in the truck. He said the worker normally drove a motorcycle to work but was in a truck Friday because of cool weather.
The man, whose identity was not released, was being interviewed and authorities were searching his apartment in Phoenix with his consent, but he but had not been arrested, Chagolla said.
"There's no information to indicate that there's domestic terrorism at hand," he said.
In Washington, the Department of Homeland Security also said there was no known terrorism link.
Sheriff's officials rendered the device safe, Chagolla said.
McDonald said the worker was a procurement engineer, responsible for evaluating equipment purchases for the plant. He wouldn't say which company employed the man, whom Chagolla described as about 60 years old and originally from South Carolina.
The worker had access to some protected areas of the plant, but not the reactor areas, McDonald said.
"Our security personnel acted cautiously and appropriately, demonstrating that our security process and procedures work as designed," Randy Edington, the chief nuclear officer for plant operator Arizona Public Service Co., said in a news release.
The detention was considered an "unusual event" - the lowest of four emergencies the plant can declare, said Jim Melfi, an inspector with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
There was no threat to the public, McDonald said.
Everyone who has access to the plant must submit to a background check, McDonald said.
Workers must pass through two security checkpoints to get inside one of the plant's three containment domes, which house the radioactive material. One of the checkpoints includes an automated system that examines workers for the presence of bomb-making materials, McDonald said.
Palo Verde is the nation's largest nuclear power plant both in size and capacity. Located in Wintersburg about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix, the plant supplies electricity to about 4 million customers in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California.
Ok, I’m calling it now—he was either Middle Eastern or an illegal
Nope...he was 61 and lived in Phoenix.
“he was either Middle Eastern or an illegal”
I’ll take that bet for a case of mine/your favorite Beer. It said he was a contract worker. Even they have to go through background checks now.
Being 61 and living in Phoenix doesn’t rule out Islam or illegal. Do you have more information than that?
It is not a bad thing that our security forces are alert, but this is a huge amount of fuss over nearly nothing.
The guy’s grandkid probably set off a firecracker in the pipe to see what would happen, thus leaving the “residue”.
Its hard to believe that 30 years ago you could buy explosives directly from the store, and 40 years ago you could buy anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition for theim through the mail.
The nanny state progresses.
I reread more carefully. It was a small stub of pipe that “might” have had a cap at each end. There is no evidence that the “residue” was anything other than some dirt.
All this fuss over a small piece of pipe and two end caps.
What nonsense!
I’m really sure he is just an avid sportsman and has that for when he goes lake fishing.
You can still buy Tannerite, or any other unmixed binary for that matter I believe...
Didn't she used to post here? Did they really name a nuclear generating station after her?
They reported that it was a capped pipe with suspicious residue on it. If it really was a bomb, they would have reported explosives, not suspicious residue. False alarm.
“The nanny state progresses.”
Mindless hysteria, pumped up by a willing media hungry for ratings, plays right into the hands of the security state that is always growing and always after increased funding.
We need to be vigilant but it’s getting to the point of stupidity. I used to make pipe bombs when I was a kid and never turned into a terrorist. This guy will now have a criminal record forever.
--------------------------------------
Yep, in the same option package as the grammar guide.
I-5 in San Diego shut down in two directions due to a pipe bomb being found. It’s a parking lot, I was able to escape northbound, just ahead of the 805 merge. Probably unrelated but a strange coincidence.
“The man, whose identity was not released,..........”
Just give us the last name for starters, and once we have it you can be dam sure if that implies we should have “profiled” him, on that alone, we will not be afraid to say so.
Naw, it doesn’t appear that the security forces were complete dolts. He wasn’t arrested, He isn’t being charged with anything, and he cooperated fully with the authorities.
He probably feels a little foolish about the whole mess, but it is not hard for me, who owns and uses pick up trucks on a regular basis, to believe that a stub of pipe and a couple of end caps could end up in the bed without my knowledge. I’ve hauled tons of trash and done plenty of do it yourself plumbing so as not to be too surprised at such an occurrence.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.