Nuclear Security Holds Up
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Nov 05, 2007
We’ve written about it often and talked about the what ifs, including if somehow, someone was to breach security checkpoints at a nuclear facility. I’m sure we don’t know about some of the incidents, but last Friday, security officials at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, west of Phoenix, stopped a contract worker with a small, suspicious device in the back of his pickup.
Security acted just as it was supposed to. The man was stopped, and the nuclear power plant was put on lockdown. No one was able to leave or enter the facility.
The device was a small, capped pipe that apparently contained suspicious residue. Although security staff from Arizona Public Service Co. were unable to detect explosive material, Maricopa County Sheriff’s officers did say it was a “credible explosive device.”
Security officers at the plant are armed with automatic weapons and check under the hood and underneath vehicles for just such things. Security personnel acted cautiously and appropriately. This shows the security process and procedures work just as they are supposed to.
Plant officials say there was no threat to the public, but if there was that potential, security officers stopped it.
This is a job well done by security forces on the front line.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.