(Direct Report to the Deputy Director for Environment, Health and Safety)
Mission
The Office of Health Programs and Environmental and Radiation Protection works with line managers to minimize DOE’s radiological and environmental footprint and protect workers, the public, and the environment from radiological hazards. The Office leads DOE efforts to understand and mitigate the legacies of past actions through robust health research, conducted nationally and internationally, to inform science-based standards for radiation and environmental protection. The Office also implements Departmental responsibilities to support former worker medical screening and legacy health compensation programs.
Functions
- Implements an integrated approach to customer and stakeholder needs in the development and maintenance of environmental policy, with particular emphasis on environmental stewardship and radiation protection of workers, the public, and the environment.
- Provides technical support and assistance to DOE program and field elements in understanding and implementing environmental and radiation protection policies and requirements.
- Maintains effective liaison with line managers and other offices within EHSS and external organizations to assist in identifying and resolving site-specific and crosscutting issues and concerns related to environmental and radiation protection policy.
- Advises and makes recommendations to the Director, Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security on occupational and environmental radiation protection matters.
- Serves as the Department’s Federal Preservation Officer, under section 110(c) of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), 54 U.S.C. § 306104, with agency-wide authority to support effective implementation of historic preservation programs.
- Serves as the Departmental Lead for addressing issues relating to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a widely used family of chemicals of increasing regulatory concern.
- Serves as the Department’s representative on Federal and international organizations establishing radiation protection policy.
- Provides DOE field managers with high-quality analytical laboratory data for environmental decision-making and ensures that the DOE radiological and hazardous waste streams are properly accounted for, treated, and disposed of in a compliant manner.
- Establishes and maintains effective relationships with DOE Headquarters and Field Elements to support mission accomplishment while protecting workers, the public, and the environment.
- Supports scientific studies to characterize the human response to ionizing radiation in the workplace or people exposed in communities as a result of nuclear incidents, including providing health and environmental monitoring services to populations specified by law.
- Supports international health studies and monitoring programs as specified by law and international agreement, including in Japan and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
- Supports health studies and other public health activities to determine if workers and communities surrounding DOE sites are adversely affected by exposures to hazardous materials from DOE operations.
- Strives to protect and promote the health of DOE workers, identifying groups who may be at increased risk and developing intervention strategies and corrective actions.
- Implements the Former Worker Medical Screening Program.
- Supports the Department of Labor in the administration of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.