Nuclear waste board memberresigns

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004 | 9:27 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- University of California professor Paul Craig resigned from the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Thursday, saying he needed to resume other work that his time commitment to the board would not allow.

Congress created the board in 1987 to review the Energy Department's plan to store 77,000 tons of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

The board was to meet today and Wednesday in Las Vegas to discuss transportation and waste management issues. The meetings at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 4255 South Paradise Road, are open to the public and were to last through 5 p.m. today and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Craig's resignation is the second from the board in a little more than two weeks. Former board chairman Michael Corradini resigned in Dec. 30 after months of conflict-of-interest complaints since he came out in favor of the project. Corradini does not believe he has a conflict, but said he resigned to keep the board's reputation and work intact.

In a letter to the White House sent Thursday, Craig said that when a person accepts a position on the board, certain professional activities must be put on hold.

"The board's credibility in providing ongoing and independent oversight of the DOE's technical work depends on its being viewed as neutral and unbiased by all interested and affect parties," Craig wrote. "I have now determined that the time has come to resume some of these activities (that had been on hold). Thus in good conscience, I must leave the board."

Craig did not specify what he will be doing now, and he could not be reached for comment Monday.

Former President Bill Clinton appointed Craig to the board in 1997. He is a University of California professor of engineering emeritus and a previous member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Radioactive Waste Management.