Nuclear Safety

The goals of the U.S. nuclear assistance program are to reduce the risk of accidents at and to encourage the shutdown of high-risk Soviet-designed nuclear power plants. Despite efforts by the United States and other countries, none of the highest-risk reactors--including some of the type that exploded at Chornobyl--has been closed and one in Armenia has recently been restarted. The Energy Department (DOE) originally expected that this effort would be short- to mid-term in duration. DOE now believes that the program should continue for at least a decade and will cost about $500 million. However, the agency has yet to develop a plan spelling out how this money will be spent or how DOE will achieve its long-term objectives. In addition, 11 of the 13 safety projects that GAO reviewed have experienced delays. In six cases, U.S. equipment was not delivered to plants in a timely manner because customs officials in Russia and Ukraine would not release the equipment. Other impediments, including a requirement that some U.S.-supplied safety equipment be tested in Russia, have also contributed to delays. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has placed a program representative in Russia to help resolve customs problems. GAO believes that a laboratory representative in Ukraine could be helpful.

GAO found that: (1) the U.S. nuclear safety assistance program's goals to reduce the risk of accidents and encourage the shutdown of the highest-risk Soviet-designed nuclear power reactors have not changed; (2) despite U.S. efforts to close these reactors, none of the highest-risk reactors have been closed and one in Armenia has been restarted; (3) DOE plans to increase its assistance to RBMK reactors to improve their safety while they continue operations; (4) reasons for not shutting down these reactors include the slow pace of the operating countries' economic reforms, concerns about displaced workers' social and economic well-being, and the need for financing for developing replacement energy sources; (5) DOE believes the nuclear safety assistance program should continue another 10 years and is developing a long-term plan that addresses how additional funds should be spent; (6) as of March 1996, DOE and NRC had received $208 million for their programs and had spent $89 million on nuclear safety equipment and products and other expenditures including program-related labor, travel, and overhead; (7) 11 of the 13 DOE and NRC safety projects reviewed have experienced delays, including untimely equipment deliveries due to customs problems and required equipment testing in Russia; (8) some projects have resulted in the installation of fire safety equipment and other safety-related hardware at nuclear powerplants and the development of safety-related training programs in Ukraine; and (9) it is too early to assess the extent to which these projects have improved nuclear reactor safety, and it is difficult to quantify the impact of the assistance provided.

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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