Suspicious Item at Palo Verde Proves to Be a Smoke Flare

MARKET WATCH.com ^ | Oct. 13, 2010, 6:34 p.m. EDT | n/a

[Cindy]

"Suspicious Item at Palo Verde Proves to Be a Smoke Flare Plant Security, Law Enforcement Agencies Respond with Coordination and Effectiveness"

SNIPPET: "PHOENIX, Oct 13, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Law enforcement officials have determined that a suspicious item found early this morning by security forces at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station is a non-explosive device that never posed a threat to plant operations or employees.

The item, four to six inches long with a fuse, was a commercially produced smoke flare, according to officials at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office who responded to the incident and later disposed of the item.

Security forces at Palo Verde discovered the item at 4:45 a.m. during the routine search of an incoming vehicle driven by a contract employee. The contractor was attempting to enter the site at the beginning of a shift through the main security check point -- nearly a mile from the protected area of the plant."

[nin_kasi]

The article mentioned that Unit 3 was in an outage at the time, and the main gate was closed during shift turn-over times. That means they probably lost a day in the already tight schedule, and it’s about a million dollars extra cost each day a reactor is offline. Even though it was legal to have in the car, that contractor probably got fired with prejudice for his smoke flare.