IU hazardous materials secured

An ABC News investigation revealed that the 25 colleges with nuclear reactors across the country severely lack security. Because of the report, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating five universities, including the University of Wisconsin, Ohio State University and Purdue University.\nWhile IU does not have a nuclear reactor, the campus is not free from hazardous materials. Radiation safety officer Greg Crouch said almost 450 laboratories at IU use potentially hazardous materials for research and teaching. He estimates close to 100 laboratories use radioactive materials and close to 20 use high-powered lasers. But Crouch said safety and security is not an issue at IU with these materials.\n"My job is to make sure we work with radiation safely," Crouch said.\nIU is also home to a particle accelerator at the Cyclotron Facility which accelerates particles to a high velocity for medical purposes and research. But Crouch said there is little danger of radiation with the accelerator.\n"If you compare an accelerator to an X-ray machine, there is no radiation if power is off," he said. "That's not true for a reactor -- the radiation comes off perpetually."\nTen journalism graduate students working for ABC News tested the security at the nuclear facilities by asking for tours, taking in cameras and tote bags.\n"We review our security effort frequently to ensure it meets the guidelines set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission," said Purdue spokeswoman Jeanne V. Norberg. "We will continue to do so. Should the NRC suggest new guidelines, we will respond."\nAccording to the ABC News report, the Purdue facility had no guards, no metal detectors and no advance background checks. It also reported the students taking the tour were allowed to take their tote bags into the facility even though the reactor room tour policy says, "No boxes, parcels, book bags, purses or other such 'containers of volume' may be brought into the Reactor room."\nNorberg said the news story misrepresented the potential security danger. The reactor, PUR-1, is fueled with highly enriched uranium and is embedded in concrete three stories below the Electrical Engineering Building and under 17 feet of water.\n"We operate with a very small amount of fuel," Norberg said. "Anyone wanting to obtain a similar amount would find it much easier to just buy smoke detectors at the hardware store. You are in more danger from the corner gas station than you are from this reactor"