Nuclear plant worker held overexplosive device

SECURITY officials at America’s largest nuclear power plant detained a contract worker with a small explosive device in the back of his pickup truck yesterday, authorities said.

The worker was detained at the entrance of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, said US Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Victor Dricks. Security officials then put the nuclear station on lockdown, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.

Authorities described the device as a small capped pipe that contained suspicious residue.