90074: Nuclear weapons production complex: Environmental compliance and waste management
The aging nuclear weapons production complex, managed by the Department of Energy (DOE), faces enormous environmental and waste management problems. Several hundred billion dollars may be needed to clean up leaking waste pits, groundwater contamination, growing accumulations of radioactive - waste, and uncontrolled liquid discharges at DOE facilities. DOE`s cleanup program is carried out by the Office of Environmental Management (EM). Cleanup funding escalated rapidly after the end of the Cold War, although it has plateaued at about $6 billion per year under the Clinton Administration. Congress has expressed growing concern about the rising costs of DOE`s cleanup program. A major cost driver has been environmental regulations and cleanup schedules that the Department is required to meet, although DOE also has been accused of poorly managing many projects and allowing costs to escalate unnecessarily. DOE`s environmental program consists of a variety of major activities, including environmental restoration, waste management, development of new cleanup technology, and stabilization of surplus nuclear material and facilities. Environmental restoration involves cleanup and mitigation of past environmental contamination and uncontained waste sites, including decontamination and decommissioning of permanently closed DOE facilities.
- Research Organization:
- Library of Congress, Washington, DC (United States). Congressional Research Service
- OSTI ID:
- 502631
- Report Number(s):
- AD-A--323724/5/XAB
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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