The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which already has two vacant seats on the five-member panel, said recently it is happy the White House this month formally nominated Patricia Lee to serve.
Lee is currently a manager at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River National Laboratory.
“Her expertise with defense nuclear facilities will be a great addition” to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), the board said in a July 17 press release.
“Dr. Lee has an extensive career that spans over three decades working at Savannah River National Laboratory and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” and has served on a variety of boards, the DNFSB said in the release.
“The board looks forward to additional nominations to reach a full contingent of five board members in the future,” according to the release.
The administration of President Joe Biden in February said it intended to nominate Lee to the board, which serves as a government safety watchdog for DOE nuclear facilities, but did not send the nomination to the Senate until July. The Senate Armed Services Committee has yet to schedule a hearing on her nomination.
Longtime federal manager Jessie Hill Roberson is scheduled to retire in October, which absent one or more replacements, could drop board membership to only two individuals — chair Joyce Connery and vice chair Thomas Summers.
Connery, who spoke at a DOE contractors group gathering in June, said carrying out board business with so few members is doable but far from optimal.
