Prior to serving as Assistant Manager for High Level Waste, Richardson held the position of Assistant Manager for Site, Safeguatds and Security at Savannah River. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Facilities, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Materials, Director of Defense Programs; Savannah River Restart Offrce, and Director of Performance Evaluation Division, Office of Safety Compliance at DOE Headquarters ill Washington, D.C.

Before joining DOE in 1989, Richardson was the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Director responsible for regulatory oversight of the restart of the Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear power program and, in particular, the successful startup of both units at the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant. Richardson joined the NRC in 1978 where he held positions of increasing responsibility in the standards development, quality assurance, inspection and enforcement, and nuclear reactor regulation areas.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Richardson graduated from Ohio State University in 1972, with two degrees in mechanical engineering. He began his career at the Division of Naval Reactors where he was responsible for the design, manufacture, and operation of various nuclear powered submarine and surface ship propulsion components. Richardson, his wife Kathy, and daughter Cindy currently reside in Oak Ridge,