Leadership

ATOM SPEC is led by experienced radiation safety professionals with deep technical knowledge, regulatory insight, and hands-on field experience supporting complex radiological environments across the United States and internationally.

Chris Vanderpool, RRPT

Co-Founder & President | RSO

Chris Vanderpool, RRPT, CRPA(R), is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ATOM SPEC, LLC, with 30 years of experience in radiation protection, radiation measurement and calibration, irradiator engineering, regulatory compliance, and radioactive source management. He possesses expert-level knowledge in radiation reference field calibration, including the establishment, characterization, validation, and maintenance of gamma, beta, neutron, and x-ray reference fields used for radiation protection instrumentation, dosimetry, research, and testing applications.

Chris has extensive hands-on experience with high activity gamma irradiators, sealed source systems, radiation detection instrumentation, and radiation calibration laboratories. His expertise encompasses the full lifecycle of irradiation and calibration systems, including system installation and commissioning, source installation and exchange, preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, radiation field characterization, calibration, uncertainty analysis, shielding evaluation, regulatory compliance, and decommissioning.

A significate focus of Chris’s career has been the development and technical evaluation of radiation reference fields. His expertise includes NIST-traceable radiation measurement and calibration programs; gamma, beta, neutron, and x-ray field characterization; determination and verification of reference dose and exposure rates; attenuation and distance response characterization; measurement uncertainty evaluation; and development of procedures for the calibration and performance verification of irradiators and radiation measurement systems.

His work spans nuclear facilities, research institutions, medical facilities, industrial organizations, and international projects where measurement accuracy, traceability, radiation safety, and regulatory compliance are critical.

Chris is also an active leader in the development of national and international radiation protection standards. He serves as Vice Chairman of the ANSI/HPS N43 Committee and Chairman of ANSI/HPS N43.10, participates in the ANSI/HPS N43.7 Working Group, and contributes to ISO/TC 85 working groups. Through these activities, he contributes to consensus standards addressing irradiator safety, radiation measurement and calibration, radiation instrumentation, and radiation protection practices.

Chris combines advanced radiation protection measurement and calibration expertise with extensive field experience in irradiator engineering, radioactive source handling, and radiation protection, providing clients with specialized technical capabilities for the development, calibration, validation, servicing, and evaluation of irradiation and radiation measurement systems. 

Co-Founder & Chief Operating & Financial Officer

Krista Vanderpool

Krista Vanderpool brings over 20 years of experience in regulatory compliance, program management, and operational leadership across state, national, and federal environments. As Co-Founder and COO of ATOM SPEC, she leads business operations, client engagement, and project execution, ensuring that every engagement is delivered with precision, transparency, and regulatory alignment.

Krista has extensive experience in compliance program development, audit readiness, and documentation control. She specializes in translating complex regulatory requirements into structured, actionable programs that support operational efficiency and long-term compliance. Her background includes accreditation processes, governance oversight, quality and documentation systems, and the development of training and certification programs for highly regulated environments.

At ATOM SPEC, Krista plays a critical role in coordinating multi-phase radiological projects, managing client relationships, and ensuring that all deliverables meet the highest standards of quality and clarity.

Key Areas of Expertise

  • Regulatory compliance and program development

  • Audit readiness and documentation systems

  • Project management for complex technical operations

  • Client coordination and contract execution

  • Proposal development and contract administration

  • Quality assurance and controlled project documentation

  • Regulatory training and competency-based program development