The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Wintersburg

As authorities tried to understand why a contract worker would bring a pipe bomb to the nation's largest nuclear power plant, one thing was immediately clear: The security worked.

Guards stopped Roger William Hurd, 61, at the entrance to the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station when they spotted the bomb. He was detained about a half mile from the containment domes where the nuclear material is stored. Officials pulled his security clearances and placed the facility on lockdown.

"The guards were attentive and alert and took the appropriate action when they identified something suspicious," said Victor Dricks, a spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.