Paul Giardina of East Hampton, a nuclear engineer who had a long career with the Environmental Protection Agency, died of cardiopulmonary arrest related to complications of myelofibrosis, a type of bone marrow cancer, on Dec. 21 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He was 75.
Mr. Giardina’s interests extended well beyond the world of science, however. He bred and trained thoroughbred racehorses in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida through his company, Cedar Meadow, which became his primary concern after he retired from the E.P.A. He was a former owner and operator of the Springs General Store, coached Little League, and once ran for town board here. He was a lay preacher at the East Hampton Methodist Church, and frequented Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett and the Springs Park with his dog, Dozer, and there “he made some of his best friends,” his family said.
At home, “he was a great cook, known for his risottos and seafood like a true Sicilian.” He had a deep well of stories, from “buying President Nixon coffee because the coffee stand wouldn’t make change for Nixon’s $20 bill” to meeting Muhammad Ali. And he was a hard-core fan of the University of Michigan Wolverines.
It was from Michigan that Mr. Giardina earned an undergraduate degree in nuclear engineering. He went on to earn a master’s degree in that discipline at New York University’s Institute of Environmental Medicine, a degree that had “a focus in environmental toxicology, which is a unique combination and is partly what led me to E.P.A.,” he once said in an interview with the agency.
“Given my unique educational background I was persuaded to join E.P.A.,” he went on, “and my interest in the environment has really turned into a strong dedication to the environment and environmental protection. I’ve really learned what public service means while working here at the agency.”
Mr. Giardina was born in Rockville Centre on June 7, 1949, to Anthony Joseph Giardina and the former Carolyn Tamburello. He grew up in Baldwin and lived in New York City until 2014. He and Kathleen Tobin Giardina were married in 1989. She died in 2019.
The last title he held at the E.P.A. was chief of the Radiation and Indoor Air branch, but he had previously worked for the Consolidated Edison Company, as an air quality engineer for Ebasco Services, and as the director of hazard management for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
In that same E.P.A. interview, Mr. Giardina singled out for significance his work on the West Valley Demonstration Project, “the only U.S. former commercial nuclear fuel processing plant. It was a combination of policy, science, and engineering that had never been done before. We really proved that high-level nuclear waste can be put into a mode that is safe and clean and can be stored or processed for ultimate disposal.” He said the project “made much of our progress in this field possible and got us to where we are today.”
He is survived by two sons, Charles Giardina of Hayward, Calif., and Thomas Giardina of Madison, Wis. He leaves one grandchild.
A service will be held on Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. at the East Hampton Methodist Church, Kenny McQuiller, the church’s lead pastor, officiating. “We will gather for a light lunch after the service in a to-be-determined location in town,” the family said.
