James Clarke

Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Adjunct Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Intellectual Neighborhoods

Research Focus

Chemical and nuclear waste management, human health and ecological risk assessment, sustainable and resilient approaches to the remediation of contaminated sites, long term stewardship of legacy hazardous and radioactive waste sites, environmental policy and environmental forensics.

Biography

Dr. Jim Clarke is an Adjunct Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and an Adjunct Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University. Prior to joining the faculty of Vanderbilt University in the Fall of 2000, he was Chairman, President and CEO of ECKENFELDER, INC., an environmental engineering and consulting firm focusing on services to the private sector in the areas of hazardous waste management, contaminated site investigation and remediation and wastewater treatment. Professor Clarke has over 45 years of professional experience with approximately 250 publications and presentations. Jim was a member of the former Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Advisory Committee on Nuclear Waste and Materials and advised the Commission and the Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards on issues concerning the Yucca Mountain project, risk-informed performance-based approaches to site decommissioning and remediation (lead Committee member) and the overall nuclear waste regulatory program. He has served on committees of the National Research Council and is a peer reviewer for the National Academies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and several journals and book publishers.

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Publications:

"Development of a Risk-Informed Approach to Determining D&D Priorities", James H. Clarke, Chuck Powers and David Kosson, Presented at the American Nuclear Society Topical Meeting and Technology Expo on Decommissioning, Decontamination and Reutilization, Idaho Falls, ID, August 2010.

"An Application of Event Tree Analysis to Ecological Systems: Understanding the Long-term Performance of Engineered Covers" Brooke Traynham, James H Clarke, Joanna Burger and W. Jody Waugh, submitted to Environmental Monitoring and Measurement, July 2010.

"Assessing the Importance of Ecological Processes through Biomonitoring and Ecological Forecasting at Nuclear Materials and Waste Sites" Brooke Traynham, James H. Clarke, and Joanna Burger, chapter in Radiological Assessment, Springer-Verlag, in press 2010

"Monitoring the Long-Term Performance of Engineered Containment Systems: Probabilistic Performance Assessment for Dominant Ecological Processes", Brooke Traynham, James H. Clarke, Joanna Burger, and W. Jody Waugh, invited submittal to Risk Analysis, submitted for publicationJune 2010

"Estimating the Frequencies of Drop Events During the Preclosure Emplacement Period at Yucca Mountain, NV", Leah Spradley, Mark Abkowitz and James H. Clarke, Nuclear Technology v170, pp 322-335, May 2010 "

"Tool for Assessment of Process Importance at the Ground Water/ Surface Water Interface', Ravi. C. Palakodeti,E ugene J. LeBoeuf and James H. Clarke, Journal of Environmental Management, (2009).

"Estimating Surface Facility Throughput During the Pre-Closure Emplacement Period at Yucca Mountain, NV", Leah Spradley, Mark Abkowitz and James H. Clarke, accepted for publication in Nuclear Technology

"Monitoring the Long-Term Performance of Engineered Containment Systems: Role of Ecological Processes", Brooke Trayhnam, James H. Clarke, Joanna Burger and Jody Waugh, Waste Management 09.

"Evaluation of Transportation and Acceptance Strategies Associated with the Potential Yucca Mountain Waste Management System", Leah L. Spradley, Mark Abkowitz and James H. Clarke, Nuclear Technology v. 165, pp 209-221 Feb 2009.

'Life-Cycle Risk Analysis for U.S. DOE Wastes in Shallow Land Burial', Kevin G. Brown, David S. Kosson, Charles W. Powers, James H. Clarke, and Frank L. Parker, Waste Management 09.

"Improving Consistency of Performance Assessments in the U.S. DOE Complex", Martin J. LeTourneau, Steven Khran, David S. Kosson, Charles W. Powers, James H. Clarke, Roger R. Seitz and Elmer L. Wilhite, Waste Management 09.

"Evaluating the Potential Impact of Using the Transport, Aging and Disposal (TAD) Canister on Yucca Mountain Pre- Closure Operations, Leah Spradley, Mark Abkowitz and James H. Clarke, accepted for publication in RadWaste (Best Paper Award – Waste Management 08 Conference)

"Monitoring the Long Term Performance of Engineered Containment Systems: What Can We Learn from Ecological Monitoring Approaches?", Brooke Traynham and James H. Clarke, Waste Management 08, Phoenix, AZ (February, 2008).

"Evaluating the Potential Impact of Using the Transport, Aging and Disposal (TAD) Canister on Yucca Mountain Pre- Closure Operations", Leah L. Spradley, James H. Clarke and Mark Abkowitz, Waste Management 08, Phoenix, AZ (February, 2008).

"Managing Residual Contaminants – Reuse and Isolation Case Studies", Kevin M. Kostelnik and James H. Clarke, Remediation, Spring 2008.

"Modeling Approaches for the Groundwater/Surface Water Interface: Critique, Challenges, and Needs for the Future", R. C. Palakodeti, E. J. LeBoeuf, J. H. Clarke, C. R. Bartlett and N. R. Grosso, submitting editor requested revisions to the Journal of Contaminant Hydrology.

"A Screening Tool for Determination of Process Importance Across the Ground Water/Surface Water Interface", R. C. Palakodeti, James H. Clarke and E. J. LeBouef, Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, Denver, CO, October 2007.

"A Comparison of Carbon Calculators", Joseph P. Padgett, Anne C. Steinemann, James H. Clarke, Michael P. Vandenbergh, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 28, pp 106-115, 2008.

"Thoughts on Education and the Nuclear Renaissance: What Have We learned that Could be Important This Time?"" participation as invited panel member for and presentation in Session on "Preserving Worldwide Nuclear Competency – Where Education Institutonal Knowledge and Industry Meet", Waste Management 07, Tucson AZ, February 2007

"State vs. Acme Manufacturing" invited participation as an expert in a Mock Daubert Hearing, annual meeting of the Americn Academy of Forensic Sciences, San Antonio, TX, February 2007.

"Should Environmental Forensics Just Be About Liability For the Past, or Can It Help Us Avoid Liability in the Future?", J. H. Clarke and K. M. Kostelnik, invited presentation, annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, San Antonio, TX, February 2007.

"The U. S. Experience with Uranium Recovery and Remediation of Uranium Mill Tailings Sites" James H. Clarke and Frank L. Parker, presented in a workshop on Cleaning Up Sites Contaminated by Radioactive Materials, sponsored by the US Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia (June 2007).

"The U.S. Experience of Remediation of Uranium Mill Tailings Sites and Comparison with the Russian Experience", Frank L. Parker and James H. Clarke, presented in a workshop on Cleaning Up Sites Contaminated by Radioactive Materials, sponsored by the US Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia (June 2007).

"A Mock Daubert Hearing based on New Mexico vs. General Electric", played the role of the expert whose testimony is beng challenged, invited presentation National Ground Water Association Ground Water and Environmental Law Conference, Chicago, IL, July, 2006.

"Engineered Containment Systems for Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes – Do Current Approached Present Opportunities for Future Environmental Forensics? The Need for Sustainable Long-Term Protection", invited presentation National Ground Water Association Ground Water and Environmental Law Conference, Chicago, IL, July, 2006.

"Preparing to Fuel Our Economy Before the Well Runs Dry" invited presentation to the Annual Meeting of the Southeast Association of Airport Executives, Nashville, TN, May 2006

"A Sustainable Environmental Protection System for the Management of Residual Contaminants", K. M. Kostelnik, J. H. Clarke, J. L. Harbour, F. Sanchez, and F.L. Parker, Long-Term Management of Contaminated Sites, invited contribution to a special issue of Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, v. 13, pp 117-137 (2007)

"A Risk Assessment Methodology for Intentional Chemical and Biological Contamination of Distribution Systems", L. Spradley, M. Abkowitz and J. H. Clarke, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, v. 3, issue 3 (2006) The Integration of Engineered and Institutional Controls: A Case Study Approach with Lessons Learned from Previously Closed Sites", K. M. Kostelnik, J. H. Clarke and J. L. Harbour, Proceedings of the 05 Waste Management Conference, Tucson, AZ, February, 2005

"A Sustainable System for Residual Hazards Management", K. M. Kostelnik, J. H. Clarke and J. L. Harbour, Proceedings of The Second International Conference on Prevention, Assessment, Rehabitation and Development of Brownfields Sites, Siena, Italy, June 2004.

Performance and Verification of Barriers Through Prediction and Monitoring, C. Chien, A.Gatchett and G. Chamberlain (eds), contributor to Chapter One - Damage and System Performance Prediction, CRC Press, 2005.

"A Review of the Literature on Institutional Controls with a Focus on the Management of Residual Hazards", K. M. Kostelnik, J. H. Clarke and J. L. Harbour, submitted to Research in Social Problems and Public Policy.

"Containment of Legacy Wastes during Stewardship" J.H. Clarke, L. G. Everett and S. Kowall, International Seminar on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies 30th Session, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., 2004.

"Engineered Containment Systems for Radioactive and Hazardous Waste: Do Current Approaches Present Opportunities for Future Environmental Forensics?" J. H. Clarke, K. M. Kostelnik, A. N. Clarke and L. G. Everett, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Dallas, TX, February 2004

"Engineered Containment and Control Systems: Nurturing Nature", J. H. Clarke, M. M. MacDonell, E. D. Smith, R. J. Dunn and W. J. Waugh, Risk Analysis 24 (3), pp 771-779, June 2004.

"The Integration of Engineered and Institutional Controls" J. H. Clarke and K.M. Kostelnik, , invited presentation, CRESP workshop on The Real Obstacle to Site Completion: Credible Post-Remediation Sustainable Protection at Contaminated Sites with Residual Waste, Washington D.C. January, 2006.

"Energy – Challenges for Environmental Scientists and Engineers", David S. Kosson and James H. Clarke, National Cross-Disciplinary Workshop in Engineering and Geoscience: Process-Driven Risk Assessment and Sustainable Mitigation Strategies, Nashville, TN, September 2005.

"Decommissioning: 2005 and Beyond", J. H. Clarke, presented to the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, Tokyo, Japan, May, 2005.

"The Integration of Engineered and Institutional Controls: A Case Study Approach With Lessons Learned From Previously Closed Sites", K. M. Kostelmik, J. H. Clarke and J. L. Harbour, Waste Management 05, Tucson, AZ, March, 2005.

"Risk in Technically Severe Environments: Contaminant Isolation Facilities", J. H. Clarke, K. M. Kostelnik, J. L. Harbour, F. Sanchez, F. L. Parker and D. S. Kosson, Annual Meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis, Palm Springs, CA, December, 2004.

"The USEPA Regulations Governing Contaminated Site Investigation and Remediation ", presented to the Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in a Workshop on Contaminated Site Decommissioning and Remediation, September, 2004 (invited presentation).

"The USEPA Approach to Risk Assessment", presented to the Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in a Workshop on Contaminated Site Decommissioning and Remediation, September, 2004 (invited presentation).