Research reactors aren't required to be protected against sabotage in the same kinds of ways that power reactors are," said Matthew Bunn of Harvard University, former adviser to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. "Security costs money and if you actually imposed serious security requirements on them, many of them would probably end up shutting down."
At Florida, Wisconsin, Purdue and Ohio State, Carnegie Fellows were able to gain access to high-security areas with no background checks, carrying large tote bags that were not inspected before they entered the reactor area. School officials said they doubted their reactors posed any risk to the nearby community due to their small size and low amount of radioactive material.
At University of Florida, Carnegie Fellows showed up unannounced and were taken through three locked doors and given a full tour of the reactor and the control room by the reactor director. Their bags, which were not searched, were left in an office connected to the reactor room.
"He became our key. And we were able to get into all these rooms through him," said Tamika Thompson, a Carnegie Fellow who recently received her master's degree in journalism from the USC Annenberg School for Communication. "If we were terrorists, we wouldn't need to have him let down his guard, he would be doing the same thing at the end of a gun barrel."
Surprisingly Easy Access
Nuclear safety advocates consider the surprisingly easy access to control rooms and reactor pools a concern.
"A terrorist with a little bit of explosives in a backpack like your students, would be able to release a vast amount of radioactivity in a very populated area," said Dan Hirsch, the head of a nuclear watchdog group called Committee to Bridge the Gap. "Bin Laden would love to do something like that."
At Texas A&M, Carnegie Fellows were able to join a guided tour with no background checks and without showing any ID. The guide informed the tour group that the reactor had "like no guards and stuff." Texas A&M says it has since changed its policy, requiring a background check a week in advance for anyone seeking entry to its nuclear reactor.
"At MIT, Carnegie Fellows were able to obtain a sensitive reactor operating schedule and floor plans from Internet sites and the MIT library. NRC investigators said they were investigating why such information was publicly available. The ABC News investigation also found that a vehicle could stop, unchallenged, on a dirt road within 50 feet of the reactor building. An ABC News producer went unchallenged as he drove down the road in a large rental truck and stopped next to the reactor.
Research reactors aren't required to be protected against sabotage in the same kinds of ways that power reactors are," said Matthew Bunn of Harvard University, former adviser to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. "Security costs money and if you actually imposed serious security requirements on them, many of them would probably end up shutting down."
How about a locked door and an awake guard, with a gun and a radio, just for starters?
Can we afford that Johnny Harvard?
Secret Agenda Alert: This is not about making us safer, this is about fearing nuclear energy and about shutting down essential nuclear energy research. There are far more cases of terrorists trying to get feed store equipment (eg OK city bombing) than going after nuclear research facilities (zero cases).
"Their bags, which were not searched, were left in an office connected to the reactor room."
That used to be my office!