Feature

Finding a Safety Niche in a Toxic Field

Olaiya Honored as 2009 Distinguished International Alumnus

By Jeff Murphy

While World War II raged overseas in the early 1940s, a sleepy town on the Columbia River in Washington State was chosen as a site to make plutonium, a deadly byproduct of the nuclear reaction process and a key ingredient of the atomic bomb. The city of Hanford became the location of the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor. Long after the war ended, as many as nine reactors were in place, running day and night as the U.S. engaged in the escalating Cold War with the Soviet Union. As tensions eased between the two nations, the reactors were gradually decommissioned. The last one was converted to produce electricity.

Something else remained, however. Fifty-three million gallons of radioactive waste were stored in leaky underground tanks, creating one of the most toxic places on Earth. The health and safety challenges that resulted from trying to clean up these sites continue to be addressed today by environmental health scientists such as Charles Olaiya.

The University of Central Missouri graduate has dedicated much of his life to helping others by improving environmental health and safety. This includes 14 years working for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Hanford Site, and most recently, two years at DOE's Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC. In recognition of his efforts to clean up toxic nuclear waste sites, as well as his groundbreaking research in chemical processing and industrial hygiene, UCM honored Olaiya as the 2009 Distinguished International Alumnus.

Olaiya, who is also known for his generosity to UCM students, overcame many socioeconomic obstacles to enjoy a successful professional career. Born in Nigeria, he lost his father at age six, but through the love and support of his mother and his siblings, he went on to study in the United States.

When he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration and industrial management in 1990 from the University of Texas-San Antonio, he had high hopes of starting his career. After being turned down following an important interview with a major oil company, he started to reconsider his options. Discouraged by the interview outcome, he made a telephone call to another oil company, which was unexpectedly answered by one of the top executives. He took time to advise Olaiya on different steps he could take to improve his opportunities in the job market. One suggestion was that he obtain a master's degree in industrial hygiene. He also recommended UCM as one of three universities Olaiya should consider.

"He told me to apply to those schools and then call him after I graduated. He would help me get a job," Olaiya says. "I applied to the University of Oklahoma, and I was accepted. I applied to UCM and was accepted. I said to myself I will go to UCM, so I came here and in a spectacular way, my career was launched," he adds.

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