Bob McCarty Writes

The Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration PANTEX Plant, the nation’s only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility located 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, Texas, is on lockdown, according to a news release from the facility, the text of which appears below:

NEWS RELEASE

Pantex Activates Emergency Response Organization

The Plant is in a lockdown status and the situation is being evaluated in order to facilitate security actions. Pantex employees are sheltered-in-place.

Pantex’s response effort is being conducted by the Emergency Response Organization, a highly trained group of employees with detailed knowledge of plant operations and emergency response procedures. These employees represent plant functions such as security, logistics, safety, medical response, radiological assessment, firefighting, operations and public information.

The emergency responders’ top priorities are the safety of the public, workers and the environment, as well as ensuring security is maintained.

Pantex is also in the process of establishing communication links with various local, state and federal government agencies that will work with Pantex and communicate with the public during the response to this event.

Public information for this event is currently being coordinated by the Pantex Public Affairs Organization, which will release additional information as it becomes available.  Public Affairs will notify the media regarding scheduling interviews and/or news conferences.

UPDATE #1 1/15/10 at 10:15 a.m. Central: I’ve learned that the facility is managed and operated by B&W Pantex and that the plant’s mission, in addition to assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons, includes the following: maintenance, modification and evaluation of nuclear weapons; interim storage of plutonium pits from dismantled nuclear weapons; and fabrication of high explosive components for nuclear weapons.  The PANTEX web site, http://www.pantex.com, was, at last check, down.

UPDATE #2 1/15/10 at 10:50 a.m. Central: Fox News reports that the lockdown stemmed from hunters being spotted too close to the facility.  It will be interesting to see if the hunters are just “good ol’ boys” or would-be terrorists conducting a so-called “dry run” to see (1) how close they can get to the facility and (2) how local officials responded to the event.  I’ll consider this “closed” unless I hear something to disprove the Fox News report.

UPDATE #3 1/15/10 at 11:48 a.m. Central: According to a local television report published at 11:38 a.m. locla, the lockdown at PANTEX is over, though officials at the plant would not disclose the nature of the security incident that prompted the lockdown.

UPDATE #4 1/15/10 at 12:58 p.m. Central: AFP confirms via Carson County Sheriff Tam Terry that duck hunters were duck hunters.

Developing…

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