Dr. John Poston, professor of nuclear engineering, and associate director of the Nuclear Power Institute at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, will be in the White House rose garden on Tuesday, June 29. Poston and his colleagues on the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health are among those invited to a reception hosted by President and Mrs. Obama, honoring individuals who assist the government through service on advisory boards and commissions.
Poston was appointed to the board in 2006 by President George W. Bush. He is the only Texan on the 14-member board, which advises the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act (EEOIC). The act was passed in 2000, and is implemented by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
The EEOIC law was passed to address the exposure of men and women engaged in building the nation’s nuclear defenses to radiation and other hazards unique to nuclear weapons and testing. The compensation program is designed to provide for timely, uniform and adequate compensation for employees or their survivors who have suffered from illnesses incurred while working for the Department of Energy or its contractors.
"The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health advises the Secretary of HHS on which employees at nuclear facilities can be considered for compensation in the event of radiation exposure, and also oversees all aspects of the compensation program," Poston said. "Other members of the board include physicians, academics, labor representatives, representatives of nuclear engineering and health physics, as well as industrial hygienists and epidemiologists," he added.
Poston has been at Texas A&M since 1985, and previously served as head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering.