Board Chairman Winokur to Retire Jan. 3

Mike Nartker
NS&D Monitor
12/19/2014

In one of its last actions before adjourning for the year, the Senate this week approved the White House’s choice of Daniel Santos to serve on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The White House nominated Santos to the Board this summer to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Joseph Bader. Santos is currently a Senior Technical Advisor at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a position he has held since 2007. Since 2011, he has served at the NRC as the Chairman of the Multinational Design Evaluation Program in the Digital Instrumentation and Controls Group. Prior to joining the NRC, Santos served in a number of positions at the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Headquarters in the Instrumentation and Control Division from 1997 to 2007, including Deputy Manager from 2004 to 2007 and Senior Engineer from 2002 to 2004.

Santos’ confirmation means the Board will continue to have three Members next year, along with Vice-Chair Jessie Roberson and Member Sean Sullivan. The Board’s current Chairman, Peter Winokur, is retiring effective Jan. 3. Winokur announced in October that he would not be seeking re-nomination to the Board. He has served on the DNFSB since 2006, first as a member and starting in 2010 as its chairman. “I am proud of the accomplishments of the Board to promote adequate protection of public and worker health and safety at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) defense nuclear facilities, while always being mindful of the incredibly important mission that DOE fulfills in support of the nuclear weapons stockpile and the cleanup of legacy waste,” Winokur said in a written response to NS&D Monitor this week.