National Guard troops were sent to the facility, located about 50 miles from Phoenix, after intelligence officials received a report that Iraqi government "sleeper cells" might carry out an attack on the facility. The threat, described as "uncorroborated" but "credible," was contained in classified intelligence reports given to local law enforcement and security officials.
The Palo Verde facility is the largest nuclear power plant in the country with three reactors that produce 30 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year for Arizona, Southern California, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. Jim McDonald with the Arizona Public Service Co., the plant operator, tells GlobeSt.com that there currently is no plan to evacuate the area around the plant, located in a sparsely populated desert area west of Phoenix.
"I can't tell you how many troops are here, but I can tell you the forces are substantial. They're heavily armed, highly trained and they know how to do their job," says McDonald. He said National Guard troops along with a BlackHawk helicopter were sent to protect the plant Tuesday afternoon.
"We're essentially operating at 'red alert,'" McDonald said, noting that the 4,000-acre plant compound is ringed with increasing levels of security. "We haven't been attacked and we don't have any sense we will be attacked, but we've taken every precaution just in case there is a possibility," he added, declining further comment on the intelligence information.
McDonald said the company is working with officials from the governor's office, the FBI, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to coordinate the security effort. Arizona's Homeland Security Director Chuck Blanchard declined to talk about the intelligence report, but said he had confidence in the safety of the Palo Verde facility.
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