A DIFFERENT TAKE
By now everyone knows a contract worker drove into the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant today with a "pipe-bomb" in his pick-up 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...."
From the AZ Central we learn that Palo Verde declared it an "UNUSUAL EVENT", the lowest level of a security problem.
"...Palo Verde declared an “unusual event,” the lowest of four emergency categories a nuclear plant can call. Dricks said such events occur “every few days” among the nation's 104 nuclear plants, but not because of credible threats.
Edington said he did not think the incident would hurt the plant's NRC standing because the response was appropriate.
“Everything worked the way it should have worked,” Edington said. “The guards found it at the very first of our checks.”
The lockdown took longer than usual because the plant was thoroughly searched from the inside out for other devices, a job made more difficult by the extra workers and equipment working on plant repairs, Edington said.
Two elementary schools and a high school in the area were locked down briefly when a plant employee notified the district at about 8 a.m., district Superintendent Robin Berry said. The notice was not an official lockdown alert from law enforcement or the power plant, but Berry decided to close up the schools as a precaution when the parent called, she said.
McDonald said that employees locked down in the facility are allowed to contact friends and family outside the plant, and that it did not violate security procedures.
The incident highlights how interwoven the facility is into the fabric of the towns of Tonopah and Wintersburg, where many residents either work at the plant or are related to someone who does.
Annette Turner, a Tonopah resident who worked at Palo Verde for six years and whose mother has worked there for 25, said the emergency didn't rattle her sense of security. “I feel very, very safe here,” Turner said. ..."
Edington said he did not think the incident would hurt the plant's NRC standing because the response was appropriate.
“Everything worked the way it should have worked,” Edington said. “The guards found it at the very first of our checks.”
The lockdown took longer than usual because the plant was thoroughly searched from the inside out for other devices, a job made more difficult by the extra workers and equipment working on plant repairs, Edington said.
Two elementary schools and a high school in the area were locked down briefly when a plant employee notified the district at about 8 a.m., district Superintendent Robin Berry said. The notice was not an official lockdown alert from law enforcement or the power plant, but Berry decided to close up the schools as a precaution when the parent called, she said.
McDonald said that employees locked down in the facility are allowed to contact friends and family outside the plant, and that it did not violate security procedures.
The incident highlights how interwoven the facility is into the fabric of the towns of Tonopah and Wintersburg, where many residents either work at the plant or are related to someone who does.
Annette Turner, a Tonopah resident who worked at Palo Verde for six years and whose mother has worked there for 25, said the emergency didn't rattle her sense of security. “I feel very, very safe here,” Turner said. ..."
Another official called the alert "Routine".
MY TAKE ON THINGS
There are two reasons I'm even going to mention this. First, knowing Sheriff Joe Arpaio as I do, (THIS IS SARCASTIC COMMENTARY) I wouldn't put it past him to ramp up the whole issue making more of it than there really is. Given his track record this fall, with the alleged Chris Simcox plot to have Arpaio killed for publicity (Simcox ought to sue the you know what out of Arpaio and probably will before it's over) and then Phoenix New Times fiasco, Arpaio needs a Big "W". He's facing some tough competition this time in his re-election bid with Don Saban. I can't wait for The Feathered Bastard's take on it next week.
USATodayBlog has a timeline
Right Wing Nut House
Memeorandum
NOW THE INTERESTING STUFF
Pat Dollard has information about Palo Verde and the fact that this was the plant where information ended up in Iran. I think this is far more fascinating than Sheriff Joe's mugging for camera time. I think this is going to be an interesting story to follow for several reasons, primarily due to Sheriff Joe, his abject lack of Constitutional process, and the fact that he's going to be involved in a very mess re-election campaign this next year, which hopefully he will lose. If he is true to form, watch him blow this out of proportion and take who ever the person involved is, and basically strip this person of all Constitutional rights. He's done it before and he will do it again. It doesn't matter as long as he gets free TV time.
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