NICK Samios, director of the Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US, is
to retire following a row over a leak of the radioactive gas tritium from the
laboratory.
The leak, which was discovered in January, appears to have come from an
indoor concrete pool which holds spent fuel from Brookhaven鈥檚 reactor. The
reactor, which is situated in a suburban area of Long Island, New York, was
closed for refuelling in December. It will stay closed until the source of the
leak is found.
Last month a preliminary report from the Department of Energy criticised
Brookhaven鈥檚 management for overconfidence 鈥渋n the control of effluents鈥� and
said 鈥渟enior managers were not sufficiently involved鈥� in decisions.
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Samios, who is 64, is returning to full-time science after 15 years as
director at Brookhaven. In a letter to staff, he says he had told trustees of
his plans to retire before the leak was discovered.