Suspicious package found at Palo Verde Nuclear power plant

TONOPAH, AZ - The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office investigated a suspicious package found at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station Wednesday night.

Jim McDonald, a spokesman for plant operator Arizona Public Service, said members of the bomb squad were called to investigate a Walmart bag that was found several hundred yards from the reactor's protective zone.

McDonald said the bag was found to be full of absorbent material, such as "kitty litter".

Officials say that even if the bag had contained something hazardous, it was not close enough to the facility to damage it.

The triple-reactor plant 50 miles west of Phoenix is the nation's largest nuclear power facility. It is owned by APS and a consortium of western power companies.