Cleanup Agreements Require DOE to Address Sites Where Transuranic Wastes Are Buried

The cleanup agreements DOE entered into with federal and state  environmental agencies require DOE to investigate and take action as  necessary to clean up sites where transuranic and other wastes were  buried. However, the sites where these wastes are buried  have since become subject to CERCLA and other environmental laws. With this designation, CERCLA requires DOE to evaluate the nature and  extent of contamination at these sites and determine what cleanup  actions, if any, are necessary to protect human health and the  environment. As shown in table 1, DOE is currently scheduled to  complete cleanup actions at all five sites by 2025. DOE Is Containing Buried Transuranic Wastes in Place at Two Sites but Is Still Developing Cleanup Plans at the Largest Waste Sites

DOE has made cleanup decisions and is addressing transuranic wastes at  Oak Ridge and Savannah River, but the department is still investigating  cleanup options at the other three locations where most of DOE’s  transuranic wastes are buried. 3). DOE Is Still Developing Cleanup Plans at the Three Locations Where Most Transuranic Wastes Are Buried, but Some Waste Removal Is Already Under Way

DOE is still evaluating cleanup options for most of the waste at the three  remaining sites––the Hanford Site, the Idaho National Laboratory, and the  Los Alamos National Laboratory––where about 90 percent of DOE’s  transuranic wastes are buried. Estimated Costs to Address Waste Disposal Areas in Which Transuranic Wastes Are Buried Will Likely Increase

DOE’s preliminary cost estimates for addressing the five waste sites where  transuranic and other hazardous wastes have been buried total about $1.6  billion (in fiscal year 2006 dollars). DOE’s estimates are based on the costs of  managing most of these wastes in place rather than removing them for off- site disposal. As shown in table 2, DOE’s estimated lifecycle baseline costs to address  the burial grounds containing transuranic wastes range from $36 million at  the Savannah River Site—where officials are in the final stages of  completing construction of a cap to contain the wastes—to $1 billion at  the Idaho National Laboratory, where DOE has begun to remove selected  wastes for disposal off-site, but is still evaluating options to address most  of the remaining buried waste. This is typically the lowest-cost approach for  addressing buried waste. If DOE is required to retrieve  substantial portions of the buried transuranic wastes and dispose of it off- site at WIPP or elsewhere, costs could increase dramatically. As DOE moves forward to further evaluate the risks, benefits, and costs of  various buried waste cleanup options, DOE’s cost estimating and project  management policies expect staff to refine the estimates.According to  DOE guidance, the cost uncertainty is greatest during the period that site  investigations and evaluations of cleanup options are being conducted. In its comments, the department generally agreed with our report. To determine the extent to which legal requirements and policies govern  DOE’s efforts to address buried transuranic wastes, we reviewed the  Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act  of 1980, as amended (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery  Act of 1976, as amended (RCRA), the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as  amended, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DOE  regulations and guidance concerning radioactive and hazardous wastes.
Why GAO Did This Study

Since the 1940s, the development of nuclear weapons technologies has generated transuranic wastes--materials contaminated by certain man-made radioactive elements. These wastes can remain dangerous for thousands of years. Until 1970, the Department of Energy's (DOE) predecessors buried these wastes in shallow pits and trenches. Today, state officials and communities near DOE's major disposal sites have expressed concerns that such wastes might contaminate important ground and surface water resources. GAO was asked to (1) determine the legal requirements and policies affecting DOE's efforts to address transuranic wastes buried before 1970, (2) determine what DOE is doing to address sites where these transuranic wastes are buried, and (3) assess the reliability of DOE's estimated costs to address these sites. We met with federal and state officials at five DOE sites containing buried transuranic wastes, reviewed environmental laws and guidance, and obtained buried waste cleanup cost estimates from each site. In commenting on this report, DOE generally agreed with our findings, and provided some clarifying comments.

What GAO Found

Cleanup agreements with federal and state agencies require DOE to investigate and clean up the five major DOE sites where transuranic and other hazardous wastes were buried. While DOE has long considered pre-1970s buried wastes permanently disposed, in 1989, the sites where most of these wastes are buried were listed as "Superfund" sites subject to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). CERCLA requires that DOE determine the nature and extent of contamination at each waste site and determine what cleanup action, if any, is needed to protect human health and the environment. All five disposal sites are scheduled to have cleanup completed by 2025. DOE is addressing the transuranic wastes buried at two sites, but it is still investigating cleanup options at the other three locations. At Oak Ridge and Savannah River, DOE is leaving the transuranic wastes in place under an earthen cap designed to prevent the wastes from migrating and taking steps to prevent animal and human access to the sites. In contrast, DOE is still investigating cleanup options at the Idaho National Laboratory, the Hanford Site, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory--where about 90 percent of DOE's transuranic wastes are buried. DOE has begun to remove a small amount of waste at the Idaho and Hanford sites, but how much buried transuranic wastes eventually will be removed or treated in place at these sites is currently undetermined. DOE's preliminary estimate of the cost to address the five waste sites where transuranic wastes are buried is about $1.6 billion in 2006 dollars, but the estimate is likely to increase for several reasons. For example, the estimates reflect the costs of leaving most waste under earthen barriers--typically the least expensive approach. If DOE is required to retrieve substantial portions of these wastes, costs would increase dramatically. In addition, the estimates exclude unknown costs, such as the cost of disposing wastes off-site, if necessary. For example, DOE's lifecycle cost estimate to remove transuranic wastes buried near the Columbia River at the Hanford site could triple once options and costs for disposal are fully evaluated. As DOE further evaluates the risks, benefits, and costs of cleanup options, its policies require it to improve the reliability of cost estimates. Thus, GAO is not making recommendations at this time.