NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Vanderbilt engineering professor has been
selected as one of a handful of high-level experts who advise the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission on safe management of nuclear waste.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed James H.
Clarke, Vanderbilt professor of the practice of civil and environmental
engineering, to its Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste. The ACNW
advises the commission on how to regulate, manage and safely dispose of
radioactive waste produced by nuclear power facilities and former
nuclear weapon production facilities.
“Professor Clarke‘s appointment to the ACNW is tremendous
recognition of the national leadership that he brings to understanding
the environmentally sound management of nuclear wastes,” said David S.
Kosson, chair of Vanderbilt‘s Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering. “His service on the ACNW is very complementary to the
outstanding research he and others in civil and environmental
engineering at Vanderbilt are carrying out to achieve safe and
economically sound options for remediating the Department of Energy‘s
nuclear production facilities and disposing of future nuclear wastes.”
Clarke brings some 30 years‘ experience in environmental science and
engineering to the appointment, including service as peer reviewer and
consultant to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the National Research
Council and the U.S. Department of Energy. He was chairman, president
and CEO of Eckenfelder, Inc., a major environmental engineering and
consulting firm, prior to joining the faculty at Vanderbilt in 2000.
At Vanderbilt, he conducts research in transport and environmental
impact of chemicals and radionuclides, risk assessment, sustainable
environmental protection and the long-term management of legacy
hazardous and nuclear waste sites.
The ACNW is independent of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff
and reports directly to the commission. The committee investigates and
analyzes issues that it determines need inquiry, as well as concerns
raised by the commission. The ACNW includes five members.
Media contact: Vivian Cooper-Capps, (615) 322-2762
Vivian.f.cooper-capps@vanderbilt.edu