Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Nuclear Environmental Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Nuclear Environmental Coordinator is responsible for planning, directing, and executing environmental and radiological protection programs at nuclear facilities or sites with radiological inventories. This role ensures regulatory compliance with NRC/Agreement State, EPA, DOE and state environmental requirements; oversees environmental sampling, monitoring and reporting; coordinates waste management and remediation activities; implements radiation protection and ALARA programs; and serves as the primary liaison with regulators, contractors and stakeholders on environmental and radiological matters. The Coordinator combines technical expertise in health physics, environmental science, and regulatory frameworks with strong project and stakeholder management skills to protect public health, workforce safety and the environment.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Environmental Technician / Radiological Technician
Health Physics Technician / Junior Radiation Safety Officer
Environmental Specialist (non-nuclear) with radiological exposure

Advancement To:

Senior Nuclear Environmental Coordinator / Lead Environmental Scientist
Radiation Protection Manager / Environmental Compliance Manager
Site Environmental Program Manager / Regulatory Affairs Lead

Lateral Moves:

Radiological Control Supervisor
Decommissioning Project Coordinator
Waste Management Program Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, implement and maintain the site Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program (REMP), including air, soil, surface water, groundwater and biota sampling plans, schedules, and quality assurance protocols to ensure compliance with NRC, DOE and EPA requirements.
Lead radiological surveys, contamination assessments and dose assessments (internal and external) to quantify worker and public exposure, evaluate ALARA opportunities, and recommend corrective actions to reduce dose.
Prepare, review and submit regulatory reports and permit applications such as NRC monthly/quarterly/annual reports, EPA reporting (e.g., NPDES, NESHAP), state environmental permit renewals, and NEPA/SEPA documentation as required.
Coordinate and oversee environmental sampling activities and laboratory analysis, ensuring proper chain-of-custody, sample handling, analytical method selection, data validation and adherence to a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP).
Develop, update and enforce radiological protection procedures, standard operating procedures (SOPs), work permits and contamination control plans for operations, maintenance and decommissioning tasks.
Manage radioactive and mixed waste characterization, segregation, packaging, labeling, storage, transportation and disposal activities in accordance with NRC, DOT, EPA, RCRA and site policy, including waste tracking and manifesting.
Serve as the site Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) or principal advisor to the RSO: perform dosimetry program oversight, maintain personnel dose records, administer bioassay and whole-body counting programs, and manage dose investigation follow-up.
Lead environmental compliance audits and inspections (internal and external), respond to findings, prepare corrective action plans, and track remediation to closure while supporting regulator inspections and NRC/State correspondence.
Design and execute environmental monitoring networks and instrumentation maintenance, including calibration and operation of gamma spectroscopy, Geiger-Mueller counters, scintillation detectors, alpha/beta counters, and air samplers.
Provide technical support and subject matter expertise for environmental impact assessments, site characterization surveys, radiological characterization for decommissioning, and remedial action planning under CERCLA/RCRA processes.
Coordinate emergency preparedness and response planning for radiological incidents: develop emergency procedures, participate in drills and exercises, and provide technical support during events to ensure public and worker safety.
Manage contractor scopes, technical evaluations and oversight for environmental field work, remediation, laboratory services and radiological surveys to ensure contractor compliance with technical specifications, health and safety plans and QA requirements.
Maintain and manage environmental and radiological databases, records and trend analyses, producing timely KPIs and summary reports for senior management and regulators that demonstrate compliance and performance improvements.
Implement and monitor contamination control, decontamination procedures and engineering controls for plant operations and maintenance activities to prevent spread of contamination and minimize environmental releases.
Conduct environmental and radiological training for staff and contractors — topics include radiation safety, contamination control, sampling techniques, permit requirements and emergency response — and maintain training records.
Lead dose modeling, transport and fate analysis, and environmental pathway modeling (e.g., RESRAD, CAP88, or equivalent) to support licensing, permitting and risk assessments.
Prepare technical evaluations, justification memoranda and site-specific technical specifications to support licensing actions, variance requests and regulatory negotiations.
Develop and manage budgets and procurement for environmental monitoring, instrumentation, laboratory services and remediation projects to ensure cost-effective compliance and project delivery.
Implement and maintain the environmental management system elements related to radiological compliance (e.g., ISO 14001 alignment), ensuring continual improvement, corrective actions and environmental performance metrics.
Liaise with federal, state and local regulatory agencies, tribal authorities and community stakeholders to coordinate inspections, public information activities, licensing actions and dispute resolution.
Oversee groundwater and surface water monitoring programs, interpret hydrogeological data and manage well sampling, installation and maintenance activities supporting contaminant plume monitoring and remedial decisions.
Support decommissioning planning and execution activities through radiological characterization, waste classification, release criteria development and documentation required for license termination or site release.

Secondary Functions

Provide ad-hoc technical analyses and support for cross-functional projects such as plant modifications, maintenance outages and engineering change requests that have environmental or radiological impacts.
Maintain and improve program documentation, records management and electronic filing systems to ensure quick retrieval for audits and regulatory reviews.
Assist in preparing public-facing communications and technical summaries for stakeholder meetings, community outreach and public information requests concerning environmental monitoring results and safety measures.
Participate in continuous improvement initiatives, lessons-learned reviews and performance improvement projects to optimize sampling strategies and reduce costs while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Support procurement and vendor evaluations for environmental instrumentation, laboratory services and remediation contractors, including specification development and technical bid reviews.
Mentor junior staff and technicians, help develop on-the-job training modules, and provide coaching to build technical capability in environmental monitoring and radiological protection.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Radiological monitoring and surveying (gamma spectroscopy, alpha/beta counting, HPGe detectors, scintillation counters, G-M tubes).
Environmental sampling protocols for air, soil, groundwater, surface water and biota; field sampling QA/QC and chain-of-custody management.
Regulatory knowledge: NRC (or Agreement State) regulations, EPA rules (NPDES, NESHAP), DOE Orders, RCRA, CERCLA, DOT hazardous materials shipping regulations.
Radiation protection principles, dosimetry management, ALARA implementation and internal/external dose assessment techniques.
Radioactive and mixed waste characterization, packaging, storage, manifesting and disposal requirements.
Environmental modeling and dose assessment tools (e.g., RESRAD, CAP88, other pathway modeling; contaminant transport basics).
Permit preparation and regulatory reporting, including NEPA/SEPA documentation and environmental compliance reporting.
QA/QC, Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) development and environmental data validation and verification processes.
Emergency preparedness for radiological incidents, spill response, incident command coordination and drill facilitation.
Laboratory management and vendor oversight, including analytical method selection, detection limits, and data deliverable review.
GIS and spatial data interpretation for monitoring networks and contamination mapping.
Proficiency with environmental databases, LIMS, MS Excel, Microsoft Office Suite, and familiarity with data visualization and basic statistical analysis.

Soft Skills

Clear, concise written and verbal communication tailored to technical and non-technical audiences.
Strong stakeholder engagement and regulatory liaison skills, able to build trust with agencies, community members and contractors.
Excellent attention to detail for regulatory documentation, sampling protocols and data QA/QC.
Project management and organizational skills to manage multiple monitoring, remediation and reporting timelines.
Problem-solving and critical thinking to evaluate environmental data and recommend technically defensible actions.
Leadership and team coordination to supervise field teams, contractors and cross-discipline workgroups.
Adaptability in dynamic operational environments and response readiness during incidents or emergent regulatory actions.
Training and mentoring capability to develop junior staff and ensure procedural compliance.
Conflict resolution and negotiation skills for regulatory discussions and contractor management.
Ethical judgment and commitment to safety, environmental stewardship and regulatory transparency.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Health Physics, Nuclear Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Chemistry, Geology, or a related technical field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Environmental Science, Health Physics, Nuclear Engineering or Public Health.
Advanced coursework or certificate in radiation protection, nuclear safety, or environmental compliance.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Health Physics / Radiation Protection
Environmental Science / Environmental Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Geology / Hydrogeology
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of progressively responsible experience in environmental monitoring, radiological protection, or environmental compliance at nuclear facilities, DOE sites, research reactors, or commercial nuclear plants.

Preferred:

5+ years of direct experience with radiological environmental monitoring programs, regulatory reporting and interactions with NRC/DOE/EPA/State regulators.
Experience acting as or supporting a Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) or serving on a radiological control program team.
Demonstrated experience with waste management (radioactive and mixed), decommissioning characterization, and environmental remediation projects.
Experience with NEPA/SEPA processes, environmental permitting, and preparing technical reports for regulatory submittal.
Certifications preferred: Certified Health Physicist (CHP) or Health Physics degree, Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) qualification, OSHA HAZWOPER, or environmental certifications (e.g., CPESC, CIH, CSP) where applicable.