Access to UC Irvine nuclear reactor limited.

Briefly In The News

March 20, 2003

UC Irvine officials are taking some extra precautions with the 250-kilowatt nuclear reactor on campus because of the heightened security alert and war with Iraq.

Tours of the reactor have stopped and access has been restricted to those who have gone through a background check, said George Miller, reactor supervisor.

On Wednesday, Miller turned away a crew that wanted to film the reactor for a documentary about the Kennedy assassination. The reactor was used for forensic analysis on bullets used during the assassination.

There is normally round-the-clock surveillance of the facility, Miller said, but the reactor is not considered high-risk because its physical construction makes removing the fuel difficult.