Bob Rothman is a consultant to Talisman with over 45 years of seismic hazard safety experience, including senior level technical positions at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). While at the NRC, Dr. Rothman served in progressively more responsible positions, including Chief of the Geosciences Section in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation. He reviewed applications for about fifteen nuclear power plant construction permits or operating licenses, applications for five independent spent fuel storage facilities, and applications for three standard plant design certifications in the areas of seismicity, seismic and geologic hazard, and the adequacy of the seismic design. He was the lead seismology reviewer of the seismic demand characterization for the over 60 nuclear power plants whose electrical and mechanical equipment were subject to seismic reevaluation as part of the Unresolved Safety Issue A-46 program. He also was a seismology and geology reviewer for seismic licensing issues at a number of operating nuclear power plants including the Long Term Seismic Program for Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant and the Systematic Evaluation Program for San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, Unit 1.
Since leaving the NRC, Dr. Rothman has provided review and comments on program proposed by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) to resolve generic seismic issues in a time frame to support the siting and licensing of a new generation of nuclear power plants, including the updating of regulatory guidance. He also has served as a Member of the Senior Review Panel for the preparation of the Safety Analysis Report for the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant Early Site Permit application. Dr. Rothman has a B.S. degree in Geology from Brooklyn College and M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in Geophysics from Penn State.