WASHINGTON, D.C. - Douglas Tonkay, director of the EM Office of Waste Disposal, has been elected a vice president of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.
“Everyone in the EM family is proud of Doug and his election to this important position," said Acting EM Assistant Secretary Sue Cange. “His accomplishment is an example of the talent and leadership that exists within EM."
Tonkay was elected to the post during the Sixth Organizational Meeting of the Parties to the Joint Convention held in Vienna, Austria on May 16-19.
As a vice president, Tonkay will support the newly elected Joint Convention president, Bismark Mzubanzi Tyobeka of South Africa. Tonkay will participate in meetings of the General Committee; assist the president as appropriate; and chair meetings of open-ended groups established by Joint Convention plenary sessions. Geoff Williams of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency also was elected a vice president.
The Joint Convention, a multinational convention under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency Secretariat, incentivizes countries to work together within a three-year peer review process, with the goal of increasing the level of safety of spent fuel and radioactive waste worldwide. Seventy-five countries have ratified the Joint Convention. The Sixth Review Meeting of the parties will take place in May 2018 in Vienna.
Tonkay has almost 27 years of leadership, management and technical experience in a wide variety of waste management programs within EM. He has extensive experience working with the Joint Convention, serving for 14 years as the U.S. national point of contact, as well as serving as advisor to David Huizenga, president of the Fifth Review Meeting.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
