October 14, 2015

Suspicious Package at ORNL Proves Harmless

By ExchangeMonitor

East Portal access to Oak Ridge National Laboratory was shut down for most of an hour Tuesday after security police officers discovered what they considered to be a suspicious package on a commercial delivery vehicle that was attempting to enter the lab. “There were wires and things,” Johnny Moore, the Department of Energy’s site manager at ORNL, said of the package on board the delivery vehicle. According to Moore, the delivery vehicle was detained at the East Portal on Bethel Valley Road, the only road leading into the Tennessee laboratory.

The vehicle was detained and searched while traffic heading into the lab was forced to turn around and head elsewhere until the investigation was completed. Moore said security officers ultimately determined the package was not a threat. The delivery vehicle’s operator was on official business and apparently was able to complete the delivery following the delay. The only impact was inconvenience for lab employees and visitors trying to get to ORNL facilities. The DOE official indicated the security force did the right thing. “Our protective force is always looking and being alert to things,” Moore said.

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