ExchangeMonitor Founder and Publisher Edward Helminski Dies at 72
WC Monitor
12/12/2014
Edward Lawrence Helminski, the founder, publisher and president of ExchangeMonitor publications, died peacefully in his home in Washington, D.C, on Dec. 5. He was 72. Helminski’s diverse career spanned from academia to energy policy work with states and the White House to newsletter publishing to organizing dozens of conferences that united diverse stakeholders. “Ed was a true pioneer in his field and his immeasurable contributions to journalism and our nation’s cleanup programs will live on to benefit generations of Americans to come,” Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) said in a statement. “I have always valued his unwavering commitment to fairness and to the betterment of defense nuclear waste cleanup and other key government responsibilities. His integrity, entrepreneurial vision and commitment to service should be held up as models of the very spirit that make our nation great.”
Family, friends and colleagues remember him for his confidence and strong opinions, generosity and love of conversation, and without fail his unique style—a “Polish Cowboy” who was a connoisseur of food, drink, music, classic cars and brimmed hats. “Helminski was a rock of a man, generous and giving, audacious and brilliant, passionate about everything – be it a conversation on government policy or a fine meal with wine and good friends,” Frank Munger, a longtime reporter on nuclear issues who worked for Helminski for more than 30 years, said in his blog Atomic City Underground. “He brought people together, helped inform decision-makers on important issues of the day, and tenaciously pursued solutions. He celebrated success. He meant so much to so many, myself included.”
Born in Wyandotte, Mich., Helminski received undergraduate and graduate degrees in physics from the University of Michigan. He subsequently became an assistant professor of physics at the Tuskegee Institute, where he coauthored a reference book for the Atomic Energy Commission. In 1973, Helminski became the first-ever director of the inaugural Office of Science & Technology for the National Conference of State Legislators as part of a National Science Foundation program. In this capacity, he assisted in the development of science advisory staff in over two dozen state legislatures and served as the science advisor to NCSL committees in the development of policies and programs.
Helminski then moved on to the National Governors’ Association in 1976, where he became director of the Energy and Natural Resources Program. While there he worked with the first Secretary of the Department of Energy, James Schlesinger, to convene the first White House Conference on Energy. He also worked on the development of states’ roles in siting of a high-level waste repository and together with state officials first brought forth the concept of forming regional compacts to address low-level radioactive waste.
In 1979, in the midst of a national energy crisis, Helminski served in the Jimmy Carter Administration as the Deputy Director of the White House Management Task Force on Energy Shortages, and was also a special assistant to the President with a wide range of responsibilities. During his White House tenure, he acted as a liaison to DOE on addressing gasoline and heating oil shortages; served on the President’s State Planning Council for Waste Management and the Three Mile Island Commission headed by the then-Arizona Governor Bruce Babbit. He also was the Carter Administration’s coordinator overseeing the venting of radioactive krypton from the stricken Three Mile Island reactor.
Helminski founded ExchangeMonitor Publication and Forums in 1981, which continues to publish four weekly newsletters in addition to a daily briefing on energy and nuclear related policy and industry issues. Under Helminski’s leadership, the company has launched numerous conferences and forums on related topics. “He was a very important voice for not only nuclear power, but also for the whole suite of issues affecting the nuclear enterprise, from deterrence to arms control to stockpile stewardship,” Rose Gottemoeller, the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, said in a written message.
Keenly interested in nuclear issues impacting U.S.-Russian relations, Helminski also developed strong relationships with Russian officials. “Edward was well known for his efforts to promote better understanding on the complex strategic and nuclear issues,” Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak said in a letter to ExchangeMonitor staff. “We at the Embassy appreciated the chance to work with him and the possibility to contribute to the events he was organizing.”
Members of the Energy Communities Alliance, a group including local officials from areas near DOE sites, remember Helminski’s dedication to topics impacting them, Executive Director Seth Kirshenberg said. “He was an advocate for the communities, the cleanup program, the Yucca Mountain project, high level waste disposal, and national security issues,” he said in a message to ECA members. “Ed was a frequent speaker at ECA conferences in the early years, always told the truth about the program, and always helped people see the big picture.”
Contractor officials said that they valued the service he provided to industry through the newsletters and conferences he started. “What Ed and you guys have done for DOE is hard to measure since you are the only real voice that keeps the hundreds of informal projects and happenings connected,” G4S Government Paul Donahue said in a message to ExchangeMonitor staff. “Without these civilian publications, the contractor pool would be lost. We all may not love what is always printed – but it makes us all work harder to earn the good stuff. Ed was a pioneer and should be remembered as such.”
Helminski is survived by his wife and childhood sweetheart Carole Ann, his children Christopher and Ursula and his two grandchildren.
