Environmental Cleanup

Better Data Needed for Radioactively Contaminated Defense Sites Gao ID: NSIAD-94-168 August 24, 1994

The Defense Department's (DOD) identification of radiologically contaminated sites and their cleanup relies on data that often are outdated, inaccurate, and incomplete. The list of 420 low-level radioactive sites that DOD gave Congress in 1992 and 1993 was inaccurate because the services had double-counted some sites and not identified others. In addition, Defense Logistics Agency sites and former defense sites, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, were omitted. DOD monitoring of status at known sites was impeded because neither it nor the services recorded such basic data as the amount of radioactivity, and the data they did record were often inaccurate and outdated. DOD's database included only general categories of contaminants at sites, such as low-level radiation, but could not identify specific contaminants or quantities. For example, significant data on plutonium contamination at Johnston Island were omitted in both DOD and Air Force data. More specific information would better help identify the types of contamination that exist, the types of required cleanup, and potential risks associated with continued contamination and with cleanup efforts.

GAO found that: (1) DOD identification of radiologically contaminated sites depends on data that are often outdated, inaccurate, and incomplete; (2) data on contaminated sites are incorrect because some sites have been double-counted while others have not been identified; (3) some Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) sites and former DOD sites have not been included in the data; (4) the DOD database includes general categories of contaminants at sites, such as low-level radiation, but it cannot identify specific contaminants or quantities; and (5) more specific information would better help identify the types of contamination that exist, the types of required cleanup, and potential risks associated with continued contamination and cleanup efforts.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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