Department of Energy: Cleaning Up Inactive Facilities Will Be Difficult
RCED-93-149
Published: Jun 25, 1993. Publicly Released: Jul 23, 1993.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Energy's (DOE) program for cleaning up inactive facilities, focusing on: (1) the program's potential scope and cost over the next 30 years; (2) major problems facing the program; and (3) the current DOE approach for managing the program.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Energy | To increase DOE management's knowledge of the dangers presented by the Department's inactive facilities and to enable the Department to prepare for cleaning up an increasing number of facilities, the Secretary of Energy should direct the Department's Assistant Secretaries to: (1) identify inactive facilities that have not been transferred to EM or that may have been administratively abandoned; (2) determine the physical condition of these facilities and of those transferred to EM and the potential dangers that they pose for workers; and (3) prepare cost estimates and schedules for implementing adequate maintenance programs at these facilities until they can be decontaminated and decommissioned. |
As a result of the GAO recommendation, in June 1993 DOE's Facility Transition Office started a 12-month Surplus Facility Inventory and Assessment (SFIA) Project. DOE's SFIA staff evaluated the relative condition and potential health and safety risk posed by about 1,200 facilities not yet transferred to EM, and identified the high-risk buildings that should immediately be transferred. SFIA staff have also estimated FY 1995 and FY 1996 costs for maintaining these high-risk facilities.
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| Department of Energy | To improve the overall effectiveness of the EM program for cleaning up inactive facilities, the Secretary of Energy should resolve disagreements within DOE concerning the development of criteria for transferring facilities from program offices to EM. |
As a result of GAO's recommendation, on November 4, 1994, DOE issued Order 4330.5. The order establishes formal criteria and requirements for transferring inactive facilities to EM.
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| Department of Energy | To improve the overall effectiveness of the EM program for cleaning up inactive facilities, the Secretary of Energy should consolidate into one office the responsibilities for deactivating, maintaining, characterizing, decontaminating, and decommissioning transferred facilities. |
DOE's Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management has decided to continue having two offices responsible for deactivating and maintaining surplus energy facilities.
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Environmental monitoringEnvironmental researchFacility maintenanceFederal facilitiesFederal facility relocationIndustrial wastesInteragency relationsNuclear facilitiesNuclear waste managementOccupational safetyEnvironmental cleanups