Posted Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:48am AEDT
A pair of duck hunters have prompted a lockdown at a Texas nuclear weapons plant, but there has been no security threat, officials say.
Officials at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, which maintains the safety, security and reliability of the US nuclear weapons stockpile, ordered a lockdown about 8am (local time), plant officials said in a statement.
The plant is operated by Babcock and Wilcox for the US Department of Energy, which oversees the US nuclear weapons stockpile.
Its nuclear stockpile was in no danger and the lockdown was purely precautionary, a state safety official said.
"There was not a threat to the Pantex plant assets, workers, or the public and the plant is now returning to normal operations," the company said in a statement.
According to Carson County Sheriff Tam Terry, the plant was locked down because armed hunters were spotted on property adjacent to it.
"Somebody saw some armed individuals dressed in camouflage clothing exiting the vicinity of the plant," Mr Terry said.
Sheriffs found a pair of hunters setting out duck decoys and building a blind on property near the plant, he said.
"They were very cooperative and compliant," Mr Terry said.
"We identified them. We checked their criminal history."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/16/2793795.htm
Also: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7000102/Texas-nuclear-weapons-plant-shut-down-by-duck-hunters.html
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