The internal emergency response organization at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, responded Tuesday to what the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) described as a “security event” involving an ultimately harmless parked car.
“Just before noon on October 23, a routine inspection at Pantex identified a potential concern with a vehicle in the John C. Drummond Center administrative building parking lot,” an NNSA spokesperson wrote in a prepared statement posted online and emailed to the press. “As a precaution, all employees were sheltered in place. The Carson County Sheriff’s Office and Amarillo Police Department responded, and the vehicle was inspected for any prohibited items. After searching the vehicle, it was determined there were no prohibited items or explosives, and the emergency event was resolved without incident.”
A reporter with the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity, citing “multiple sources,” said on Twitter that trained dogs at Pantex had honed in on the parked car.
Multiple sources reporting #Pantex scare came from bomb-sniffing dogs that alerted on a vehicle near new admin building. Site was soon declared safe. But Pantex has struggled with emergency readiness in recent years, @ENERGY Inspector General reports: https://t.co/kjK9m259p3
— Patrick Malone (@pmalonedc) October 23, 2018
The NNSA touched off worries Tuesday afternoon when it tweeted about an “operational emergency” at the Amarillo, Texas, plant that services the nuclear stockpile and stories disused nuclear materials and weapons.
The Pantex Plant is experiencing an operational emergency. The Emergency Response Organization has been activated.
— Pantex Plant (@PantexPlant) October 23, 2018
Amarillo police told Texas’ Fort Worth Star-Telegram they sent a bomb squad to the plant, but it was unclear whether the squad assisted with the event or even entered the federally owned facility.
Pantex assembles and disassembles active nuclear weapons in need of refurbishment, and strips down surplus weapons for parts, including the plutonium pits that form the fissile cores of most modern nuclear weapons.
