City To Inspect MIT Nuclear Reactor In Response to Fears About Terrorism

Cambridge officials will begin investigating MIT's nuclear research reactor later this month, responding to concerns that it is vulnerable to terrorist attack.

The MIT facility, built in 1958 and used for materials testing and experiments in nuclear medicine, is the second most powerful research reactor in the country. Its fuel, a highly-enriched form of uranium, could potentially be stolen by terrorists who want to build nuclear bombs, said David C. O'Connor, director of the Cambridge Department of Emergency Management.

"It is cheaper for a little country with a lot of cash to steal some uranium than to build a plant to make it," O'Connor said.

The investigation, to be conducted by O'Connor, the Cambridge police and fire chiefs, was sparked by a report sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by Daniel Hirsch, an authority on research reactors at the University of California at Santa Cruz. The report stated that security for nuclear reactors must be improved substantially to protect such facilities from fuel-theft and sabotage.

Hirsch said in an interview yesterday that the security used for nuclear reactors "is usually no different than that for any other campus buildings."

In order effectively to protect the reactors, Hirsch said, "They need large exclusion zones and very serious security." He added that he could not be more specific because NRC regulations require that security measures remain secret.

Hirsch cited two incidents in the mid-1970s in which he said the security of MIT's reactor was less than adequate.

At one point, a small amount of bomb-grade fuel was stolen from the facility and then discovered a few weeks later on a graduate student's desk, Hirsch said. The thief was never found.

And in 1975, an intruder broke into the reactor but stole nothing. He left a note at the site saying that he broke into the building in order to demonstrate the weakness of the security system, but soon after turned himself over to the police.

Lincoln Clark, associate director of the MIT facility, said there is no need for an investigation or an increase in security. "We've been good neighbors in Cambridge for many years. We've increased levels of security as the NRC has published new regulations, and I don't think there is anything to worry about."

Clark said, however, that he will allow the investigation of the facility.