Leo Sain, a senior executive at Amentum who has led joint ventures across the Department of Energy weapons complex, has died at age 73.
Most recently Sain served as the decommissioning and demolition and waste management sector lead at Amentum. He died May 13, according to an obituary posted by Weatherford Mortuary in Oak Ridge, Tenn. No cause of death was provided.
“Leo was an icon in our industry and touched many throughout his successful career,” Amentum’s nuclear and environment’s business unit president, Mark Whitney said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “He was a remarkable leader and mentor, always dedicated to the company and DOE mission. He will be greatly missed.”
Seven years ago Sain stepped down as president and project manager of the cleanup contractor at the Oak Ridge Site, UCOR, in order to take a corporate job with what was then URS. URS was subsequently bought by Los Angeles-based AECOM, which in January 2020 sold its federal government contractor operations to affiliates of New York-based investment firms to form what is now Amentum.
In 2011, Hanford Waste Treatment Plant whistleblower Walt Tamosaitis identified Sain as one of the URS officials involved in conversations that preceded Tomosaitis’ demotion and firing from URS. Tamosaitis, who had raised safety complaints about the plant before his dismissal, would eventually win a $4-million legal settlement from the company.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, earning a degree in nuclear physics and working for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Sain would go on to hold top management jobs such as president of Washington Safety Management Solutions and president of Washington Savannah River Company.
In his youth, Sain was a skilled baseball player who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, according to the obituary.
