William "Ike" White Nominated by the President to Serve on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following last week’s nomination by the President of William "Ike" White to serve on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Candice Robertson to head the Office of Environmental Management (EM) as it continues to advance its critical cleanup mission. While White awaits confirmation to the DNFSB, he will serve as a Senior Advisor, applying his expertise across DOE's critical missions.

Under White's leadership, EM has made significant progress advancing liquid waste treatment systems, including reaching agreement with the state of Washington and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a realistic and efficient path forward for Hanford Site’s tank waste mission, completing construction of the facilities supporting Hanford’s Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste treatment approach and beginning the first large-scale treatment of radioactive and chemical tank waste at the Tank-Side Cesium Removal System at Hanford, as well as beginning operations at the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility, completing demolition at Oak Ridge’s East Tennessee Technology Park, making it the first site in the world to remove an entire uranium enrichment complex, and finishing demolition of Portsmouth’s X-326 uranium process building, a two-story structure covering 56 acres that was critical in the cleanup and transformation of the Gaseous Diffusion Plant. During White's tenure, EM developed and implemented its annual Priorities Scorecard summarizing achievements and engaged Tribal Nations, stakeholders, and communities to define a 10-year Strategic Vision outlining planned accomplishments over the next decade.

Robertson has over 20 years’ experience in radioactive waste management and is well versed in EM’s mission, previously serving as the EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and as an Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, as well as DOE’s Chief Human Capital Officer, and as a Chief of Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Prior to federal service, Robertson served as an elected Nye County Commissioner in Nevada, which hosts the Nevada National Security Sites. Robertson's deep commitment to working with Congress, states, Tribes, communities, and stakeholders in executing the EM cleanup mission safely and effectively, coupled with her demonstrated ability to lead all aspects of the EM program make her the ideal choice for this role.