A MAN FOR (ALMOST) ALL SEASONS, NOT JUST UNDERGROUND REASONS

Tucked away in the list of Dr. Nordstrom’s several hundred papers, abstracts, and invited lectures on a wide range of geochemical topics are a signficant number dealing with various aspects of radioactive wastes. He also served from 1990-1996 as a member of the National Academies’ Board on Radioactive Waste Management, which made a number of important contributions to the field during his tenure. This talk will briefly summarize his participation in the efforts of Sweden, Finland and the United States to grapple productively with the still unresolved issue of geologic disposal of high level nuclear waste from the production of nuclear weapons and spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants. There will be particular attention to recent advances and at least some partial successes in dealing with this overall issue, and the talk will present Dr. Nordstrom’s scientific contributions in the context of past and current developments both in the United States and abroad.