Environmental Health Physicist

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory • Berkeley, CA

5d • $122,208 - $242,724 • Onsite

About The Position

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Environment, Health, and Safety Division is hiring an Environmental Health Physicist for the Environmental Services Group within the Environment, Waste and Radiation Protection Department. Under general direction from the Environmental Services Group Leader and EWRP Department managers, this position plans, directs, and manages environmental radiation protection programs for the Laboratory. The role applies broad technical knowledge across air emissions, wastewater discharges, biota and penetrating radiation, construction material release and disposal, and accelerator health physics to address complex radiological issues while balancing risk, institutional goals, and compliance with EPA and DOE regulations.

The physicist provides health physics expertise to research, operations, and construction teams; leads regulatory reporting, inspections, and audits; and provides technical leadership for environmental radiological protection, decommissioning, and remediation activities. The position has duties across the EPA National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Radiological Program, the DOE Environmental Radiological Protection Program, radiological decommissioning and environmental remediation, Radiation Protection Group support, and environmental monitoring data management.

The position may be filled at Level 3 or Level 4. Level 3 requires a bachelor’s degree and 5–7 years of experience, a master’s degree and 3–5 years, or a Ph.D. and 1–3 years, or an equivalent combination. Level 4 requires a bachelor’s degree and 7–10 years, a master’s degree and 5–7 years, or a Ph.D. and 3–5 years, or an equivalent combination. The role is a full-time career appointment, exempt from overtime pay. Work will be primarily performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California. Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States at hire; visa sponsorship is unavailable. The position is subject to a background check.

Requirements

• Level 3 education and experience: B.S. with 5–7 years of experience, M.S. with 3–5 years, or Ph.D. with 1–3 years, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Level 4 education and experience: B.S. with 7–10 years of experience, M.S. with 5–7 years, or Ph.D. with 3–5 years, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Broad knowledge of environmental health physics theories, principles, and techniques, plus working knowledge of related disciplines.
• Ability to work under consultative direction and solve difficult problems involving evaluation of identifiable factors.
• Ability to exercise judgment within defined policies and current regulations to select methods and techniques that produce effective solutions.
• Effective oral and written communication skills and ability to build cooperative working relationships with personnel at all organizational levels.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
• Excellent customer service orientation.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical guidance and leadership to junior technical staff.
• Certification in health physics or an environmental discipline.
• For Level 4, ability to develop solutions to very complex problems requiring in-depth evaluation of diverse factors, conduct important incident investigations using new approaches, and implement solutions consistent with policies and regulations.
• For Level 4, ability to work under consultative direction toward goals, initiate assignments, and independently determine and pursue courses of action.
• Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States at the time of hire; visa sponsorship is not available.
• A REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification is required to access Berkeley Lab sites.

Nice To Haves

• Substantial, broad experience monitoring environmental radiation emissions and discharges, performing dose assessment and computer modeling, and developing and implementing compliance assessments.
• Experience leading environmental radiation protection compliance programs and serving as lead on medium- to large-scale projects or programs.
• Experience implementing DOE requirements and processes.
• Experience with DOE decommissioning projects.

Responsibilities

• Manage and develop technical programs to maintain compliance with environmental radiation protection policies, laws, regulations, and DOE Orders.
• Plan and manage environmental radiological programs to meet programmatic and project milestones.
• Develop practical, cost-effective approaches to environmental radiation protection requirements and risks; communicate with Laboratory management and staff and resolve regulatory issues with agencies.
• Provide technical leadership for radiological decommissioning and environmental remediation projects.
• Develop monitoring and assessment strategies for radiological effluents associated with radiation worker activities; document and submit assessments for regulatory review as required.
• Investigate accidental workplace releases, determine reporting requirements, and make required notifications to LBNL senior management, DOE, and EPA.
• Prepare and submit environmental radiation protection reports and plans to DOE and EPA; maintain knowledge of applicable requirements and legislative agendas.
• Manage the EPA NESHAP radiological program, including compliance with 40 CFR Subpart 61.
• Calculate potential public dose for planned radionuclide work; identify stacks requiring sampling or monitoring; and manage collection and analysis of stack emissions samples.
• Author, review, and approve procedures and reports for stack sampling and monitoring equipment; review and analyze emissions data and implement corrective actions as needed.
• Calculate annual public dose from airborne radionuclide emissions using EPA-approved software such as CAP-88 and COMPLY; prepare the annual Radionuclide Air Emissions report.
• Track NESHAP sampler performance and radiological work authorization compliance; maintain the NESHAP quality assurance program.
• Advise staff and researchers on planning, implementing, and assessing public dose from airborne radionuclide emissions; work with DOE and EPA on regulatory compliance approaches; lead inspections and audits.
• Manage the DOE Environmental Radiological Protection Program in compliance with DOE Order 458.1.
• Develop and maintain the Environmental Radiological Protection Program Plan and related procedures and documents.
• Manage collection, quality assurance, assessment, and reporting of dosimetry data for public dose from external penetrating radiation.
• Manage the Environmental ALARA Program and the Biota Dose Assessment Program.
• Manage radiological soil and environmental media processes, including indistinguishable-from-background determinations and proper disposal.
• Advise environmental subject matter experts on radionuclide control in groundwater, sanitary sewer, soil, sediment, vegetation, and remediation; document compliance with applicable concentration standards, contaminant levels, and the EBMUD permit.
• Review and assess sanitary sewer radionuclide results and prepare the annual Radioactive Compliance Limits certification for EBMUD.
• Coordinate reporting of radiological monitoring, cleared-property surveys, and independent verification results for the annual site environmental report.
• Prepare annual radiological dose assessment and environmental monitoring reports for air quality, vegetation and foodstuffs, and penetrating radiation in accordance with DOE Order 458.1.
• Maintain environmental radiological protection records in accordance with the applicable records management plan.
• Develop and manage a DOE Order 458.1-compliant radiological release and clearance program for construction-related materials, including soils, sediment, and sludge.
• Develop and implement radiological assessment and remediation solutions for research facilities and construction project sites.
• Provide radiation protection leadership on radionuclide behavior, radiological release and clearance, MARSSIM, MARSAME, and Facilities project radiological assessments.
• Author or review technical documents such as work plans, sampling and analysis plans, final status survey plans, and final status survey reports; review and approve contractor-provided project documents.
• Provide health physics expertise for historical site assessments and oversee, review, and approve work by contract project health physicists supporting Facilities projects.
• Develop radiological characterization plans and assess characterization data to determine suitable disposal sites or reuse strategies.
• Provide technical direction to EWRP personnel on radiological release and clearance of materials.
• Support the Radiation Protection Group by reviewing and revising plans and procedures, authoring or peer-reviewing technical basis documents, performing hazard reviews and statistical or dose/risk evaluations, and completing other specialty tasks.
• Manage and configure database systems and software for environmental monitoring data entry, transfer, organization, and display.
• Prepare or assist with geospatial mapping and graphical dashboards using the ESRI ArcGIS software suite.
• Manipulate datasets to automate deliverables, including transferring and transforming data between databases and geospatial representations using Feature Manipulation Engine and other programming methods.

Benefits

• Exceptional health and retirement benefits, including pension or 401(k)-style plans.
• Tuition Assistance Program.
• Accrued vacation and sick time.
• Annual Winter Holiday Shutdown.
• Parental bonding leave for mothers and fathers.
• Pet insurance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level