FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 12, 2002
FY02-38
Abelquist Named Head of ORISE's Radiological Safety, Assessments, and Training Program
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. –Eric W. Abelquist has been named Director for ORISE’s Radiological Safety, Assessments, and Training (RSAT) Program. With this promotion, Abelquist will be responsible for the management of all RSAT activities including the oversight of the Professional Training Programs (PTP), Environmental Survey and Site Assessment Program (ESSAP), and support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division.
ESSAP has been serving the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the areas of independent verification of environmental cleanup for almost 20 years. Since its inception in 1948, PTP has provided training for more than 20,000 scientists, physicians, engineers, educators, regulators and technical personnel in radiation-related topics.
Abelquist is replacing long-time program director Jack Beck, who will serve as the associate RSAT program director until his retirement in 2003.
Abelquist joined ORISE in 1993 as a project leader with the Environmental Survey and Site Assessment Program (ESSAP) within RSAT. In 1996, he was promoted to Associate Program Director overseeing the technical assistance that ESSAP provides to clients within the NRC and DOE. During this time, Abelquist was called upon to work with the NRC in the development of regulatory guidance documents and the evaluation of detection survey instruments.
In 1996 Abelquist was part of a team called upon to develop MARSSIM, the Multiagency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual. Years in the making, MARSSIM successfully consolidated the final status survey guidance from four federal agencies (DOE, NRC, DOD, EPA) into one guidance document. MARSSIM has been so successful that Abelquist later contributed to the development of training courses and a software program, COMPASS, that supported and expanded ORISE’s MARSSIM work.
In 2001, he also authored a book entitled Decommissioning Health Physics: A Handbook for MARSSIM Users.
Abelquist holds a bachelor’s degree in Radiological Health Physics and a master’s degree in Radiological Sciences and Protection from the University of Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts. He is a certified health physicist and contributing editor to the Health Physics Newsletter.
Abelquist and his wife, Sandy, live in Oak Ridge with their children — Alyssa, Elizabeth, and Gunnar.
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is a U.S. Department of Energy institute focusing on scientific initiatives to research health risks from occupational hazards, assess environmental cleanup, respond to radiation medical emergencies, support national security and emergency preparedness, and educate the next generation of scientists. ORISE is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities.