The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed the administrator of its Northeast region to head the division responsible for enforcing safety regulations at all U.S. nuclear plants.
Bill Dean will replace Eric Leeds, who is retiring, as the director of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. In that position, Dean will lead the agency's oversight of both power reactors and research reactors. Leeds had held the position for six years, according to a release from the NRC.
Dean has spent his entire civilian career at the NRC following eight years in the nuclear Navy. He joined the agency in 1985 as an operator licensing examiner and worked his way up to management roles in the reactor regulation office, the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response and the office of the executive director for operations. He has been the administrator of the NRC Region I office in King of Prussia, Pa., since late 2010.