Cox’s Rival Calls Reactor Review Scant

Refusing to let go of an issue he hopes will attract voter attention, an underdog congressional candidate Tuesday continued to call for UC Irvine to shut down its nuclear reactor, saying it could be a target for terrorists.

Democrat John Graham said his opponent, Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, had been too quick to conclude that the reactor was safe after taking a tour of the facility earlier this month.

“He didn’t talk to anyone who was critical,” Graham said.

Graham’s news conference was held at the University Club at UCI, where he is a professor of marketing at the Graduate School of Business. The reactor, in the basement of Rowland Hall, is about a 200-yard walk out the back door of the club.

A spokesman for Cox said the congressman was on a plane and could not be reached for comment. He said Cox was waiting for experts from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to answer his questions about the reactor. Cox is considered the favorite to win another term in the 48th congressional district, which includes Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Irvine.

The reactor operates just a few hours a week, at a fraction of the power of a commercial reactor. UCI officials insist it is safe. “We don’t believe this is a serious target for terrorists,” said William Parker, UCI’s vice chancellor for research.

He said that because the reactor is in 25 feet of water, sabotage could release no significant amount of radiation.

In a conference call, Graham brought together Democratic congressional candidates from Missouri, Texas, California, Ohio and Michigan, all of them in districts that included or were close to university nuclear reactors.

With him at UCI was Daniel Hirsch, former director of the Adlai Stevenson Program on Nuclear Policy at UC Santa Cruz. Hirsch was critical of UCI’s stance on the reactor.

He said a fire could spread significant doses of radioactivity up to six miles from the reactor. “I’m so upset at the misleading statements the university is making,” he said. “I think they either have to substantially increase security or shut it down. They can’t continue to operate it with minimal security.”

Graham said he planned to bring the issue of reactor security before the faculty senate.

Students don’t seem concerned about it, said Gabe Ayass, president of Associated Students on campus: “They don’t know there’s a reactor, and they don’t know what it does.”

In a letter to Graham, Irvine Mayor Larry Agran said that because of the professor’s concerns, “which I share,” he had asked Police Chief Dave Maggard to review reactor security.

Maggard did not return a phone call seeking comment.