"Kansas State University’s nuclear reactor deserves a failing grade for lapses in security, according to an ABC News investigation of college research reactors.
The investigation, in which ABC News interns attempted to gain access to the reactors on 25 campuses, found that K-State’s reactor “would get an F and zero for protection,” according to Ronald E. Timm, a security consultant who analyzed reactor security for the ABC report.
Most of the other reactors fared just as badly in the ABC investigation, which airs at 9 tonight on Primetime Live. The University of Missouri at Columbia’s reactor was also criticized for poor perimeter security.
Officials at both schools questioned whether the interns really knew enough about nuclear reactor security to point out flaws. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has promised to investigate any security lapses and make changes if necessary, according to NRC spokesman Eliot Brenner.
When the two interns — who told reactor operators they were prospective graduate students — went to the K-State reactor, they toured the facility with a video camera and were able to gain access to the control room and the reactor room. ABC also criticized the reactor for having no metal detectors or guards. The reactor is open to tours, but all visitors must present identification and subject their belongings to a search.
K-State spokeswoman Cheryl May said the reactor doesn’t have enough radioactive material to be a target for terrorists. She said the university uses the reactor for research and instruction, and opens it up to tours so the public can become more educated about nuclear science.
K-State reactor director Mike Whaley worries the ABC report may bring an end to the tours, which he said attract about 2,500 people a year.
The MU reactor is one of the largest research reactors in the nation and does not allow tours. Still, the ABC interns were a"
