UF responds to ABC story on nuclear training reactor

October 13, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The following is a response from the UF College of Engineering to the Oct. 13 ABC PrimeTime Live story regarding nuclear training reactors.

In its Primetime broadcast Thursday evening, ABC News aired a report about the security of 25 nuclear reactors operated by U.S. universities. The University of Florida Training Reactor was among those featured.

During the summer, ABC News sent journalism interns to the 25 campuses for tours of the reactors. The interns did not identify themselves as working for ABC News or explain the reason for their visit. They used hidden cameras to document their experiences. UFTR, like most research reactor facilities, routinely gives escorted tours.

The ABC News report used an aerial camera view to demonstrate the proximity of UFTR to, among other places, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on a game day. While it’s true that the reactor and the stadium are near each other, the reactor is not a threat to the UF campus or surrounding community.

UFTR is a small reactor, operating at a maximum power of only 100 kilowatts. Unlike commercial nuclear plants, it doesn’t produce electricity. Also, typical full-scale nuclear plants contain at least 100 tons of fuel. In contrast, the UFTR core is composed of just a few pounds of uranium permanently embedded within aluminum plates bolted together. All of this is covered by several layers of shielding, including about 50 tons of concrete. In the highly unlikely event of an explosion, the radioactive material would be sealed inside these plates. Surrounding academic buildings are not at risk, and certainly buildings like the football stadium and the Reitz Union are not at risk either.

The 46-year-old reactor has always had security measures, and following Sept. 11, additional security measures were adopted as directed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC regularly monitors the UFTR, and has visited several times since Sept. 11 to evaluate the security enhancements. For security’s sake, the specifics of these precautions can’t be disclosed.

The broadcast suggested that the fuel inside the reactor could be used to create a “dirty bomb,” or a device that uses a common weapon, like dynamite, to distribute radioactive material. Alireza Haghighat, professor and chair of the Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, said this suggestion is “absolutely false.”

“Getting at the fuel inside the reactor is virtually impossible,” Haghighat said. “You’re talking about thousands of pounds of material that would require a highly qualified team to dismantle and remove. Furthermore, it would take a long time to perform such an operation.”

The reactor was built in the late 1950s with funds from President Dwight Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace program and the Florida Legislature. It has been fully operational since 1959 and is a wonderful teaching tool and research resource within the Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering. Graduates often find work within one of the nation’s 104 nuclear power plants, making UFTR beneficial not only to science, but also the economy.

For more information, please see the news release from the College of Engineering.