A contract worker with security clearance to work in the nuclear area of
the Palo Verde nuclear plant is being detained after a "pipe bomb" was found
in his pickup truck as he attempted to enter the plant November 2, Arizona
Public Service Co. spokesman Jim McDonald said November 2. APS, which operates
the three-reactor station outside Phoenix, would not identify the worker or
the company for whom he works, but said the worker has the necessary clearance
to be in the plant's protective area.
Plant security guards saw a small, capped pipe in the bed of the worker's
pickup truck while he was at a security check-point and notified the Maricopa
County Sheriff's Department, the utility said. APS said the sheriff's office
later determined the pipe "was a credible explosive device." No information
was available on why the worker had the device. "Our security personnel acted
cautiously and appropriately, demonstrating that our security process and
procedures work as designed," Randy Edington, APS executive vice president and
chief nuclear officer, said in a statement. The FBI will investigate the
event, APS said. The worker has been detained, but not arrested, according to
McDonald. As a precaution, the utility put the plant in a security lockdown,
barring vehicles from entering or leaving the plant. Palo Verde-2 was at 100%
power November 2, while unit 1 was restarting from a maintenance outage, and
unit 3 is offline for a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage.