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NUCLEARSPACE MESSAGE BOARD (ACTIVE) -> OPPOSITION MOVEMENTS, MYTHS & SNAKE OIL -> Following "Loose Nukes" on ABC News
Post Info TOPIC: Following "Loose Nukes" on ABC News
iprimap


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Following "Loose Nukes" on ABC News
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http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/
Following "Loose Nukes" on ABC News

I've been paging through the ABC News message board attached to this story, and some of the reaction from folks there can't be encouraging for the people who put together the series. Here are some choice reactions:



Can ABC and the students they used to gain access to the facilities admit that they lied to gain entry? That they used tactics and methods that would NEVER result in danger to the public? Why does ABC want to cut or dramatically reduce the research (including cancer and environmental research) performed at these research reactors?

Sad, really.



But wait, there's more:



One would have thought that the mainstream media would have learned it's lesson from the Dan Rather/fake National Guard documents debacle. Using dishonest journalistic techniques to push a crusading agenda is not the way for the mainstream press to regain lost credibility. Having your story become THE story is the surest way to end up with egg on your face. Is ABC News thinking of hiring Mary Mapes? Maybe they already have?



And it gets better:



ABC needs to come up with some more original topics for reporting. This kind of fearmongering is just plain wrong. I guess they've exhausted every possible angle on the killer hurricane subject, so now they have to move on to something else in order to scare viewers into watching and giving them the ratings they want. Sheesh.



For our coverage of this report, and the questionable reporting techniques used by ABC's crack group of interns, start here and follow the links. I had my TiVo set up to record the segment from today's edition of Good Morning America, and will have more on that segment tonight.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's some text from my NEI colleague Felix Killar that's pertinent to the research reactor portion of the ABC series:



Every research reactor has multiple layers and techniques of security. These include surveillance and detection equipment, and alarms with an armed security force response.

University research reactors are licensed and regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Since 9/11, the NRC has required site-specific security enhancements for reactors of two megawatts of generating capacity and greater, and for reactors of less than two megawatts of capacity. There continues to be coordination between the NRC and the research reactor community on ways to further enhance security commensurate with the small volumes of irradiated fuel in these reactors. A second round of security requirements from the NRC is expected in the near future.

All of the uranium fuel at research reactors is either in the reactor vessel or has been irradiated in the reactor and is securely stored. For this reason, even a suicidal terrorist who might be willing to risk lethal exposure to steal this material – which is typically quite heavy – would have to spend some period of time trying to steal it. The material is not accessible in a way that would allow anyone to make off with that material in 20 or 30 minutes.

The amount of uranium fuel in research reactors – most of which are below ground level – is sufficiently small that even in the event of accident – there is virtually no risk to the general public even in close proximity to the buildings that house the research reactors.


Definitely something to keep in mind.

YET ANOTHER UPDATE: And speaking of research reactors...

LINK UPDATE: Here are a couple of blogs who are linking to the ABC content: Political Pit Bull and TVNewser.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Energy, Technology, Homeland Security, ABC News


posted by Eric McErlain @ 9:14 AM



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RE: Following "Loose Nukes" on ABC News
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http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/ml052780509.pdf



October 12, 2005



Mr. Brian Ross


ABC Investigative Unit


143 Columbus Ave.


New York, New York 10023



Dear Mr. Ross:



Thank you for sharing your observations pertaining to research and test reactor (RTR) security and the opportunity on September 26 to review a portion of your videotape. Public input is helpful to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in overseeing the safety and security of civilian RTRs. The NRC staff reviewed each of the observations that you shared with us to ensure that safety and security continue to be maintained at these facilities.



NRC inspectors periodically assess safety and security at these facilities to ensure that the public is adequately protected. Our routine assessments include evaluations of the current threat environment in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the intelligence community, and State and local law enforcement agencies. Based on our review of your observations, our continuing review of site-specific security enhancements, and our knowledge of the potential risks, we continue to believe that the Nation’s RTRs remain safe and secure. Furthermore, we recently issued letters to each RTR licensee to obtain additional information and emphasize our expectations for maintaining effective RTR security in the current threat environment. In these letters, we requested each RTR to verify its implementation of the previous site-specific security measures and provide additional details. The NRC will review these measures.



Moreover, the radiological consequences of an attack on RTRs would be low due to the small quantities of radioactive material present, the reactor structure and shielding designs, and the safety and security measures in place. Also, attempts to sabotage the facility or steal the nuclear material would trigger an armed response and activate pre-established emergency response plans. Even if a sabotage attack were attempted against an RTR, we are convinced that the potential for significant radiation-related health effects to the public is highly unlikely. I again want to express my appreciation for sharing your observations with the NRC. I want to assure you that the NRC will take whatever steps are necessary to protect the public.



Sincerely,



/RA/



Roy P. Zimmerman, Director


Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response


cc: Mr. John Zucker, Corporate Counsel, ABC



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http://www.lafayettejc.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20051016/OPINION03/510160305/1144/OPINION

ABC's nuclear over-reaction

By Lefteri Tsoukalas
For the Journal and Courier

As a nuclear engineer, I believe deeply that nuclear energy has vast
potential to make our lives better: through generation of electrical
power, through creation of new and better procedures to diagnose and
treat disease, through development of enhanced scientific processes,
through industrial applications.

I also understand and respect the enormous destructive power of this
form of energy. I appreciate the fact that many people have a deep-
seated fear of the dangers nuclear power presents when it is used
for hostile purposes or mishandled. However, I know that when
properly managed, nuclear power is safe and efficient, and I believe
the American public will benefit from acquiring a better
understanding of the science to which I have devoted my life.

That is why I am deeply disturbed by an ABC news report aired by the
network on Oct. 13. The report cynically exploited people's
instinctive fear of nuclear energy by misrepresenting both the
threat from, and the nature of, research reactors, such as the one
for which I am responsible at Purdue University. ABC sent college
students who were working as journalism interns to a number of
university reactor facilities, including the one at Purdue. The idea
was to see whether they could get into the facilities and to assess
security measures.

The interns had no trouble gaining access because we welcome
visitors to the reactor. In fact, our Web site and printed
literature invite the public to schedule tours, which are conducted
by staff trained in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's security
measures. The ABC interns saw what any visitor would see. If they
had identified themselves as investigative journalists, they would
have been given the same tour and the same information -- no more,
no less.

By the time they had been to two universities, the interns' behavior
had given them away, and all the subsequent sites they visited knew
who they were and their purpose. They still were given escorted
tours. Yet ABC's report maintained the fiction that the interns had
duped those responsible for security at each of the reactors. It
also accepted at face value the interns' evaluations of security
measures -- evaluations they were not qualified to make.

The network's premise was that the American public is threatened by
the ease with which research reactors can be accessed. This is
patently false.

In Purdue's case, the reactor utilizes a tiny amount of fuel. At
full power, it can produce roughly the energy needed to illuminate
10 100-watt light bulbs. While there is no such thing as complete
safety in any endeavor, Purdue's reactor is as safe and secure as
any laboratory can be. Located three stories underground, it is
entered through an academic building, which is easily accessible to
the public. However, the reactor itself is behind two locked doors
and can be accessed only in the company of authorized staff fully
trained in NRC security procedures.

While nuclear fuels are by nature hazardous, the possibility of an
accidental or deliberate threat to public safety from this facility
is close to zero. In fact, a corner gas station or the fuel tank for
a backyard barbecue grill presents a greater danger than this
reactor.

When research reactors operate, they do so well below boiling
conditions, instead of the very high pressures and temperatures
found at nuclear power plants. Research reactors operate safely with
simple, easily supplemented cooling systems. Possible incidents
involving research reactors have been analyzed many times, and the
consequences would be confined to very small areas, usually within
the research reactor facility itself. If a terrorist set off an
explosion in the reactor, it would be unlikely to endanger anyone
who was not inside the facility. An Oklahoma City-style truck
bombing -- graphically suggested by ABC as a threat -- would cause a
great deal of damage and human suffering, but would release no
radiation from the underground reactor.

Theft of the nuclear material from a research reactor would be
virtually impossible. The extremely heavy construction of the
facility and nature of the installation make removing the fuel a
major construction project requiring heavy equipment and the
supervision of engineers. It could not be done covertly. There are
much easier ways to get nuclear materials, including from medical
facilities, delivery trucks and the smoke detectors sold at any
discount store.

ABC -- a network with enormous power and responsibility -- chose to
ignore an enormous amount of factual information in the interest of
sensationalism. In the process, they have misled the American people
and many public officials. Only time will tell whether this
irresponsible report has done permanent damage to an academic
discipline that America needs to nurture and further develop.

I have the benefit of the knowledge gained from a lifetime of study,
so ABC has not shaken my faith in the value of continued study of
nuclear energy. My confidence in ABC's national news is another
matter.

Tsoukalas is head of Purdue's School of Nuclear Engineering.

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