Nuclear Waste

In response to the buildup of highly radioactive waste at more than 70 nuclear facility sites across the country, the Department of Energy (DOE) has been developing an underground repository that was expected to be up and running in 1988. By 1991, DOE was estimating that its scientific investigation of a site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, could be completed in 2001 at a cost of $6.3 billion and that, if the site proved suitable, a repository could be in operation in 2010. GAO found that at its present pace, DOE's investigation of Yucca Mountain will take at least 5 to 13 years longer than planned and could cost up to $600 million more than the agency has projected. GAO recommends that DOE review the program's goals and objectives in light of the program's funding priorities. Such a review should address whether the program's emphasis on the scientific investigation of Yucca Mountain is sufficient and how that investigation can be done more efficiently without sacrificing technical quality.

GAO found that: (1) DOE investigations into the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain will be delayed by up to 13 years and cost more than DOE projected because DOE has not given the project a high priority or requested the necessary funding needed to maintain the project's schedule; (2) competition between DOE programs has decreased the amount of funds available; (3) DOE has used most of the funds allotted to the project to maintain a large project infrastructure; (4) although DOE is considering two programs to reduce project costs and maintain its investigation schedule by establishing a revolving fund to increase the use of revenues and reducing investigation time and costs by limiting scientific studies and the project's scope, these programs could hinder efforts to control the deficit, reduce congressional program control, adversely affect the Nuclear Waste Fund's financial stability, and affect the quality of investigative data; (5) the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board has raised concerns that the DOE program schedule does not allow sufficient time to collect and analyze data, resolve unanticipated technical problems, or evaluate the repository's design and consider alternatives; and (6) DOE needs to develop a management approach that balances the program's schedule with the program's scientific and technical aspects.

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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