Nuclear waste official quits

Suzanne Struglinski

Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2003 | 11:44 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Michael Corradini, chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, sent a letter of resignation to the White House on Tuesday, telling President Bush that constant inquiries into his possible conflict of interest have taken away from the board's role in overseeing the Yucca Mountain Project.

Congress created the 11-member board in 1987 to give independent and expert technical review of the Energy Department's plans to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

"Ever since I took on this position in June of 2002, the board staff and members have been required to respond to inquiries about perceived conflicts of interest and these distractions have created a huge burden on the board members and staff and diverted us from our proper oversight role," wrote Corradini, who is also the chairman of the engineering physics department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"It is my view that I do not have a conflict of interest nor are my professional activities as a university professor and researcher in nuclear reactor safety a source of potential conflicts of interest," he noted.

Beyond the extra time spent answering these question, he also wrote that he is "concerned" about the effect even a perception of a conflict would "have on the public's trust in the board's oversight and review process."

The Nevada congresional delegation had called for Corradini's resignation saying he can not be objective. The five lawmakers sent a letter to the White House in February saying his appointment to the board "seriously undermined" trust in the board's credibilty.

Conflict of interest questions came up again in October when he co-wrote an editorial in a Wisconsin newspaper saying storing waste in Yucca can be done safely.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., discussed possibly stopping the board's $3.2 million in funding based on that comment.

"Professor Corradini's exit as head of the NWTRB is long past due, given his numerous biased statements in support of Yucca Mountain," said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., in a statement.

"Throughout his tenure as Chairman of the NWTRB, Michael Corradini displayed a wanton disregard for impartiality and despite repeated criticism by his peers, he continued to comment on the supposed safety of dumping nuclear waste in Nevada," Berkley said. "His departure is needed in order to try to repair the damage done to the reputation of the Technical Review Board as a panel whose members are free of bias on issues pertaining to nuclear waste disposal."

Corradini would not discuss his resignation when reached this morning, saying his letter to the president stands as his statement on the matter.

His resignation is effective Jan. 12.