Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission board member Peter Lyons died, according to a statement from the agency this week.
Lyons, 78, passed away April 29 after a year-long battle with cancer, according to the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Those who worked with Lyons throughout his nearly 50-year career in the nuclear industry expressed their condolences throughout the week.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), said in a Tweet Tuesday that Lyons was “giant in the nuclear industry and a great ally in the fight to keep nuclear waste out of Yucca Mountain.” As the head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy office, Lyons was involved in the 2011 decision to shut down construction of the proposed geologic repository.
I’m saddened to hear of Peter Lyons’ passing. He was a giant in the nuclear industry and a great ally in the fight to keep nuclear waste out of Yucca Mountain. Sending my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.
— Senator Cortez Masto (@SenCortezMasto) May 5, 2021
In a Tweet Monday, the Nuclear Energy Agency said Lyons was an “invaluable expert and leader in the nuclear field.”
We are deeply saddened by the loss of Peter Lyons – former @NRCgov Commissioner, former Assistant Secretary of Energy at @govnuclear, and an invaluable expert & leader in the global nuclear field.
Our thoughts and condolences are with his family. Rest in peace, Dr Lyons 🥀 pic.twitter.com/pTgYvS6J3d
— OECD NEA ⚛️ Nuclear Energy Agency (@OECD_NEA) May 3, 2021
The American Nuclear Society industry group also released a statement Monday expressing their condolences. Lyons had been a member of the organization since 2003.
“For decades, Pete distinguished himself as an influential thought leader in nuclear science and energy policy, first at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and later at the NRC and Department of Energy,” said NRC chair Christopher Hanson in the agency’s Monday press release.
Before his retirement, Lyons served as the head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy from 2011 to 2015. Prior to that, he served as an NRC commissioner from 2005 to 2009. Lyons began his career in 1969 at Los Alamos National Laboratories, where he worked to support nuclear testing diagnostics.
