Uranium Mill Tailings

Cleanup Continues, but Future Costs Are Uncertain Gao ID: RCED-96-37 December 15, 1995

For decades, uranium processing for the nation's nuclear weapons and energy programs continued to radioactive contamination at 50 ore processing sites and thousands of nearby areas. The Energy Department (DOE) now expects to spend more than $2.4 billion during the next 20 years to clean up surface and groundwater contamination at the sites. Various factors could affect the future federal costs and ultimate completion dates of the cleanups. These factors include whether (1) DOE will keep option part of one disposal site to dispose of tailings unearthed during future work on roads and utilities and (2) the affected states will contribute their 10-percent share of the groundwater cleanup expenses. Depending on what happens, these factors could add millions of dollars and years of work to the cleanup effort.

GAO noted that: (1) DOE intends to complete the cleanup of surface and groundwater contamination sites by 2014, at a cost of more than $2.4 billion; (2) out of 24 sites, surface cleanup is complete at 15, under way at 7, and idle at 2; (3) surface cleanup costs total around $2 billion to date and may be completed in 1998 at an additional cost of $300 million; (4) DOE postponed its groundwater cleanup until 1991 because of its focus on surface cleanup and a delay in the Environmental Protection Agency's final groundwater standards; (5) DOE has not reached an agreement with any of the affected states or tribes to develop cleanup strategies or financial support; (6) DOE will need another $147 million to clean up the affected groundwater sites; (7) the costs and completion dates of the cleanups depend on whether DOE keeps a disposal site open to dispose of future unearthed tailings and whether states contribute 10 percent of the groundwater cleanup expenses; and (8) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not updated the minimum charge for owners of Title II sites to reflect the cost of basic surveillance and maintenance.

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