Nuclear waste : DOE's environmental management initiatives report is incomplete /
The Department of Energy (DOE) spends billions of dollars annually to clean up nuclear waste at sites across the nation that produced nuclear weapons from the 1940s through the end of the Cold War. This waste can threaten public health and the environment. For example, contaminants at DOE's Han...
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| Corporate Authors: | , |
| Format: | Government Document eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Washington, DC :
U.S. Govt. Accountability Office,
[2009]
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| Series: | U.S. Congressional Research.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | The Department of Energy (DOE) spends billions of dollars annually to clean up nuclear waste at sites across the nation that produced nuclear weapons from the 1940s through the end of the Cold War. This waste can threaten public health and the environment. For example, contaminants at DOE's Hanford site in Washington have migrated through the soil into the groundwater, which generally flows toward the Columbia River. The river is a source of irrigation for agriculture and drinking water for downstream communities as well as a major route for migrating salmon. Cleanup projects decontaminate and demolish buildings, remove and dispose of contaminated soil, treat contaminated groundwater, and stabilize and dispose of solid and liquid radioactive wastes, among other things. DOE's Office of Environmental Management currently oversees more than 80 of these cleanup projects, primarily at government owned, contractor-operated sites throughout the nation. Some of these highly complex projects have completion dates beyond 2050. ... Problems were the result of inconsistent application of project management tools and techniques on the part of DOE and its contractors. Furthermore, since 1990, we have designated DOE's contract management as a high risk area for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement because of the department's record of inadequate management and oversight of its projects. In January 2009, we narrowed the scope of this high-risk area to focus on the two major offices remaining within DOE that continue to experience significant problems, the Office of Environmental Management and the National Nuclear Security Administration. |
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| Item Description: | Record is based on bibliographic data in ProQuest U.S. Congressional Research Digital Collection. Reuse except for individual research requires license from ProQuest, LLC. Electronic resource. |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |