Nuclear Waste Cleanup
Preliminary Observations on DOE's Cleanup of the Paducah Uranium Enrichment Plant Gao ID: GAO-04-278T December 6, 2003In 1988, radioactive contamination was found in the drinking water wells of residences located near the federal government's uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky, which is still in operation. In response, the Department of Energy (DOE) began a cleanup program to identify and remove contamination in the groundwater, surface water, and soil located within and outside the plant. In 2000, GAO reported that DOE faced significant challenges in cleaning up the site and that it was doubtful that the cleanup would be completed as scheduled by 2010, and within the $1.3 billion cost projection. GAO was asked to testify on (1) how much DOE has spent on the Paducah cleanup and for what purposes, and the estimated total future costs for the site; (2) the status of DOE's cleanup effort; and (3) the challenges DOE faces in completing the cleanup. This testimony is based on ongoing work, and GAO expects to issue a final report on this work in April 2004.
Since 1988, DOE has spent $823 million, adjusted to fiscal year 2002 constant dollars, on the Paducah cleanup program. Of this total, DOE spent $372 million (45 percent) for a host of operations activities, including general maintenance and security; $298 million (36 percent) for actions to clean up contamination and waste; and almost $153 million (19 percent) for studies to assess the extent of contamination and determine what cleanup actions were needed. DOE currently projects that the cleanup will take until 2019 and cost $2 billion to complete--nine years and $700 million more than its earlier projection. The $2 billion, however, does not include the cost of other DOE activities required to close the site after the uranium enrichment plant ceases operations, including final decontamination and decommissioning of the plant and long-term environmental monitoring. DOE estimates these activities will bring the total cost to over $13 billion through 2070. DOE has made some progress in cleaning up contamination and waste at Paducah, but the majority of the work remains to be done. For example, while DOE has removed over 4,500 tons of scrap metal, over 50,000 tons of contaminated scrap metal remain. Similarly, while DOE's pilot test of a new technology for removing the hazardous chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) from groundwater at the site had promising results, the technology will not be fully implemented for over a year. DOE's key challenge in completing the Paducah cleanup is achieving stakeholder agreement on the cleanup approach. For example, differences between DOE and the regulatory entities--the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency--over the cleanup scope and time frames resulted in an almost 2-year dispute, from June 2001 to April 2003, that disrupted progress. All three parties are working to develop an accelerated cleanup plan, but continued cooperation will be required in order to advance the cleanup.
GAO-04-278T, Nuclear Waste Cleanup: Preliminary Observations on DOE's Cleanup of the Paducah Uranium Enrichment Plant
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Testimony:
Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate:
United States General Accounting Office:
GAO:
For Release on Delivery Expected at 9:00 a.m. CST:
Saturday, December 6, 2003:
Nuclear Waste Cleanup:
Preliminary Observations on DOE's Cleanup of the Paducah Uranium
Enrichment Plant:
Statement of Robin M. Nazzaro, Director Natural Resources and
Environment:
GAO-04-278T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-04-278T, testimony before the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate
Why GAO Did This Study:
In 1988, radioactive contamination was found in the drinking water
wells of residences located near the federal government‘s uranium
enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky, which is still in operation. In
response, the Department of Energy (DOE) began a cleanup program to
identify and remove contamination in the groundwater, surface water,
and soil located within and outside the plant. In 2000, GAO reported
that DOE faced significant challenges in cleaning up the site and that
it was doubtful that the cleanup would be completed as scheduled by
2010, and within the $1.3 billion cost projection.
GAO was asked to testify on (1) how much DOE has spent on the Paducah
cleanup and for what purposes, and the estimated total future costs
for the site; (2) the status of DOE‘s cleanup effort; and (3) the
challenges DOE faces in completing the cleanup.
This testimony is based on ongoing work, and GAO expects to issue a
final report on this work in April 2004.
What GAO Found:
Since 1988, DOE has spent $823 million, adjusted to fiscal year 2002
constant dollars, on the Paducah cleanup program. Of this total, DOE
spent $372 million (45 percent) for a host of operations activities,
including general maintenance and security; $298 million (36 percent)
for actions to clean up contamination and waste; and almost $153
million (19 percent) for studies to assess the extent of contamination
and determine what cleanup actions were needed. DOE currently projects
that the cleanup will take until 2019 and cost $2 billion to complete”
nine years and $700 million more than its earlier projection. The $2
billion, however, does not include the cost of other DOE activities
required to close the site after the uranium enrichment plant ceases
operations, including final decontamination and decommissioning of the
plant and long-term environmental monitoring. DOE estimates these
activities will bring the total cost to over $13 billion through 2070.
DOE has made some progress in cleaning up contamination and waste at
Paducah, but the majority of the work remains to be done. For example,
while DOE has removed over 4,500 tons of scrap metal, over 50,000 tons
of contaminated scrap metal remain. Similarly, while DOE‘s pilot test
of a new technology for removing the hazardous chemical
trichloroethylene (TCE) from groundwater at the site had promising
results, the technology will not be fully implemented for over a year.
DOE‘s key challenge in completing the Paducah cleanup is achieving
stakeholder agreement on the cleanup approach. For example,
differences between DOE and the regulatory entities”the Commonwealth
of Kentucky and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”over the
cleanup scope and time frames resulted in an almost 2-year dispute,
from June 2001 to April 2003, that disrupted progress. All three
parties are working to develop an accelerated cleanup plan, but
continued cooperation will be required in order to advance the
cleanup.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-278T.
To view the full product, click on the link above.
For more information, contact Robin Nazzaro at (202) 512-3841 or
NazzaroR@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Senator Bunning:
We are pleased to be here today to discuss the Department of Energy's
(DOE) efforts to clean up contamination and waste at its Paducah,
Kentucky, uranium enrichment plant. The plant, which continues to
operate under a lease to a private company, the United States
Enrichment Corporation (USEC), enriches uranium for commercial nuclear
power plants. DOE began a cleanup program at the site in 1988, after
contaminated groundwater was found in nearby residents' drinking water
wells, and contaminated surface water and soils were identified within
and outside the site. In August 1999, in response to allegations that
past plant activities had endangered employees' health, DOE's Office of
Oversight conducted an independent investigation that identified
improper disposal of hazardous and radioactive materials on-and off-
site and the release of contaminated water into streams and drainage
ditches.[Footnote 1] In 2000, prompted by continuing congressional
concerns, we reported that DOE faced significant challenges, such as
obtaining stakeholder concurrence with its approach in cleaning up the
Paducah site and that it was doubtful that the cleanup would be
completed as scheduled by 2010 and within the $1.3 billion cost
projection.[Footnote 2] Our statement today describes the preliminary
results of our ongoing work, directed by the conference report for
DOE's 2003 appropriations, on DOE's cleanup efforts at the Paducah
plant.[Footnote 3] Specifically, we will discuss (1) how much DOE has
spent on the cleanup program and for what purposes, and the estimated
total future costs for the site; (2) the status of DOE efforts to clean
up the contamination at the site; and (3) the challenges DOE faces in
completing the cleanup.
In summary:
* Since 1988, DOE has spent $823 million, adjusted to fiscal year 2002
constant dollars, on the Paducah site. Of this total, DOE spent about
$372 million (45 percent) to pay for operations at the site, including
construction, security, general maintenance, and litigation; $298
million (36 percent) on actions to clean up contamination and remove
waste; and almost $153 million (19 percent) for studies to assess the
extent of the contamination and determine what cleanup actions were
necessary. Although DOE estimated in January 2000 that the cleanup
would be complete by 2010 and cost $1.3 billion, DOE now estimates that
completing the cleanup will take at least until 2019 and cost almost $2
billion. The $2 billion, however, does not include the cost of other
DOE activities required to close the site, including final
decontamination and decommissioning of the buildings, equipment, and
materials used in the uranium enrichment process after operations cease
at the plant, as well as long-term environmental monitoring at the
site. Completing these activities will bring the total cost of closing
the uranium enrichment plant to over $13 billion through 2070.
* DOE has made some progress in cleaning up contamination and waste at
Paducah since 1988, but much of the work remains to be done. For
example, DOE has removed over 4,500 tons of scrap metal, but over
50,000 tons remain. Similarly, although DOE has tested a new technology
for removing the hazardous chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) from
groundwater at the site with promising results, the test removed only
about 1 percent of the estimated amount of TCE, and the technology will
not be fully implemented for over a year. DOE also plans to conduct a
number of studies to determine if other cleanup actions, in addition to
those already planned, are necessary. For example, DOE will test the
groundwater near several areas where waste is buried to determine if
contamination is leaking and, if so, what corrective action will be
needed.
* DOE's key challenge in completing the cleanup at Paducah is achieving
stakeholder agreement on the cleanup approach, including scope and time
frames. For almost 2 years, from June 2001 to April 2003, DOE and the
regulators--the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
Commonwealth of Kentucky--were unable to agree on cleanup scope and
time frames, disrupting cleanup progress. DOE, EPA, and Kentucky are
currently negotiating approval of an accelerated cleanup plan; however,
the success of the plan will depend on the parties' ability to agree on
the scope and time frames for individual projects as the cleanup moves
forward. In addition, DOE's proposed plan is only the latest of several
attempts to resolve problems at the site since 1999. Given the parties'
past difficulties in resolving disputes over cleanup scope and time
frames, and the number of decisions that remain to be made, it is
unclear whether DOE will be successful in accelerating the cleanup.
Background:
The Paducah uranium enrichment plant is located on about 3,500 acres in
western Kentucky, about 3 miles south of the Ohio River and about 10
miles west of the city of Paducah. The plant--formerly operated by DOE
and now operated by USEC--enriches uranium for commercial nuclear power
reactors. Plant operations have contaminated the site over time with
radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes, including technetium-99 (a
radioactive fission product); polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs);
uranium; and volatile organic compounds such as TCE, which was used as
a degreaser.
Responsibility for management of the Paducah site is divided between
two DOE offices. The Office of Environmental Management has overall
responsibility for the site cleanup being performed by its contractor,
Bechtel Jacobs. The Office of Nuclear Energy acts as the site's
landlord, with responsibilities for maintaining roads, grounds, and
facilities not leased to USEC.
EPA and Kentucky cooperate in regulating the cleanup under the federal
facility agreement, which integrates the requirements of two federal
environmental statutes governing the cleanup of the Paducah site--the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
of 1980, as amended, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of
1976, as amended. Respectively, these statutes provide broad federal
authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of
hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment
and to regulate the safe management and disposal of hazardous or other
solid wastes.
In addition to the federal facility agreement, DOE uses two other
documents to manage the cleanup. The site management plan, which is a
cleanup strategy document developed annually by DOE and subject to
approval by EPA and Kentucky, includes timetables, deadlines, and
projected activities for the cleanup. DOE uses the lifecycle baseline
to manage the cleanup; it contains detailed information on cleanup
projects, cost estimates, and time frames for completion and is updated
frequently by DOE's contractor to reflect the evolving nature of the
cleanup process.
DOE's cleanup plan for the Paducah site divides the cleanup into seven
major categories:
* Groundwater--About 10 billion gallons of groundwater are contaminated
with radioactive and hazardous materials.
* Surface water--Contaminated surface water has been discovered in
creeks and ditches leaving the site. One of the main sources of this
contamination is rain runoff from the thousands of tons of contaminated
scrap metal stored at the site.
* Surface soils--Both on-and off-site soils and sediments have been
contaminated by water runoff, spills, and buried waste.
* Legacy waste--Low-level radioactive or hazardous waste generated
before 2001 remains stored in various locations at the site.
* DOE material storage areas--160 indoor and outdoor storage areas
contain a variety of radioactive, hazardous, and other materials. These
areas have been added to the cleanup scope since our 2000 report.
* Burial grounds--12 burial grounds contain a variety of waste,
including barrels of materials with low levels of radioactivity and
hazardous chemicals.
* Decontamination and decommissioning of 17 unused buildings and
structures--These facilities were contaminated during earlier
operations; 15 have been added to the cleanup scope since our 2000
report.
DOE Has Spent $823 Million on the Paducah Cleanup Program, and Billions
More Will be Required for Final Site Closure:
From 1988 through 2003, DOE spent $823 million, adjusted to fiscal year
2002 constant dollars, at the Paducah site. As figure 1 shows, $372
million (45 percent) was spent on operations at the site such as
providing security, performing general maintenance, providing
municipal water for nearby residents, maintaining almost 38,000
cylinders of depleted uranium hexafluoride,[Footnote 4] constructing
storage and other facilities, and carrying out activities related to
litigation; $298 million (36 percent) was spent on cleanup actions,
including waste removal and treatment; and $153 million (19 percent)
was spent on studies to assess the contamination and determine what
cleanup actions were necessary. These percentages are similar to those
DOE's Office of Environmental Management found for all of its cleanup
programs: only about one-third of the environmental management program
budget goes toward actual cleanup and risk reduction work, with the
remainder going to maintenance, fixed costs, and miscellaneous
activities, contributing to a lack of risk reduction and raising costs
for DOE's cleanups.[Footnote 5]
Figure 1: Expenditures at Paducah by Category, Fiscal Years 1988-2003:
[See PDF for image]
Note: Total cleanup expenditures for fiscal years 1988-2003, adjusted
to fiscal year 2002 dollars, were $823 million. The individual dollar
figures noted above may not total $823 million because of rounding.
[End of figure]
DOE's current estimate for completing the cleanup is almost $2 billion-
-a $700 million increase over its 2000 estimate--and the completion
date has moved from 2010 to 2019. The cost increase is attributable to
an expanded project scope as well as millions of dollars for site
operations for each of the 9 additional years of cleanup. However, the
cleanup estimate does not represent DOE's total responsibilities at the
site: In addition to the cleanup program, DOE will build and operate a
facility to convert the depleted uranium hexafluoride stored at the
site to a more stable form and carry out final decontamination and
decommissioning (D&D) of the uranium enrichment process buildings,
equipment, and materials once USEC ceases plant operations.
Furthermore, after the cleanup, D&D, and uranium hexafluoride
conversion, DOE will continue to incur long-term stewardship costs at
the site for such activities as monitoring groundwater and surface
water for residual contamination. Completing these activities will
bring the total cost of closing the uranium enrichment plant to over
$13 billion through 2070.
While DOE Has Made Some Progress, the Bulk of the Cleanup Remains:
Since 1988, DOE has made some progress in cleaning up the contamination
and waste at Paducah, but much of the cleanup work remains to be done.
Some of DOE's accomplishments since our 2000 report as well as tasks
remaining follow:
* Groundwater--DOE has treated about 710 million gallons of groundwater
to remove TCE and technetium-99 and prevent off-site contamination.
DOE's pilot test of technology for removing TCE sources--large
concentrations of accumulated TCE--had promising results. However, the
test removed only about 1 percent of the estimated 180,000 gallons of
TCE that had leaked into the ground, and the system will not be fully
implemented until at least 2005, according to DOE contractor
officials.[Footnote 6] The estimated completion date for removing TCE
from the two major sources at the site is 2010.
* Surface water--To prevent contaminated runoff, DOE has removed about
4,500 tons of scrap metal from the site--primarily crushed drums that
previously had contained uranium and aluminum ingots. An estimated
50,500 tons of scrap metal remains to be removed from the site. At the
north-south diversion ditch, a key wastewater conduit from the plant,
surface water discharges and runoff have been rerouted and piped to
bypass contaminated areas, and DOE has begun excavation work to remove
contaminated soil from the first of five sections of the ditch. DOE
plans to complete excavation of sections one and two by 2005. The
estimated completion date for all surface water cleanup activities is
2017.
* Surface soils--DOE has assessed all surface soils at the site to
identify radioactive contamination and protect plant workers. In
addition, DOE has removed 2,500 cubic yards of contaminated soils--
enough to cover a football field 17 inches deep. However, because soil
contamination represents a lower risk for exposure and migration than,
for example, groundwater, and because other work, such as removal of
scrap metal, must be performed before some soils can be reached, this
category is a lower priority. DOE estimates that a total of 90,000
cubic yards of soils will be removed and disposed by 2015.
* Legacy waste--DOE has performed initial characterization of all of
this waste--the equivalent of 52,000 55-gallon barrels--for on-site
storage, and disposed of over 7,000 barrels off-site. Another 6,000
have been repackaged and are ready for disposal. The remaining legacy
waste--over 38,000 barrels--will be characterized and disposed of by
2010.
* DOE material storage areas (DMSA)--DOE has ranked the 160 DMSAs at
the Paducah site on the basis of their potential to contain hazardous
materials or contaminate the environment: 33 are high priority, 11 are
medium priority, and 116 are low priority. DOE has characterized and
removed materials from 9 high-and 15 low-priority DMSAs and has
completed characterization of an additional 17 high-priority DMSAs. DOE
still needs to remove materials from these 17 and characterize and
remove materials in the remaining 119 DMSAs. According to DOE
officials, only 0.01 percent of the materials characterized to date
have been determined to be hazardous waste. DOE plans to complete
characterization by the end of fiscal year 2009 and dispose of all
materials from the DMSAs by 2013.
* Burial grounds--To date, DOE's activities at the 12 burial grounds
have consisted of studies and environmental monitoring and maintenance.
Currently, DOE plans to cap--cover with a layer of soil--the burial
grounds and monitor groundwater to evaluate the effectiveness of the
caps. If the burial grounds are found to be leaking TCE or other
hazardous substances, some burial grounds may need to be excavated.
Groundwater monitoring will be ongoing through 2019.
* Decontamination and decommissioning of 17 buildings and structures
that are no longer used for the uranium enrichment process--DOE has
completed its assessment of the contamination and has begun removing
the infrastructure of one of the buildings. The remaining 16 are
scheduled to be completed by 2017.
After operations cease at the plant, DOE will decontaminate and
decommission the uranium enrichment process buildings and equipment.
[Footnote 7] During D&D, DOE will also address, as necessary, those
areas where additional studies are being done.
Reaching Agreement on Cleanup Scope and Time Frames Remains the Key
Challenge to Cleanup Progress:
DOE's most difficult challenge has been, and could likely remain,
obtaining stakeholder agreement on the cleanup approach, including
scope and time frames. According to DOE officials, reaching agreement
has been more difficult at Paducah than at other DOE cleanup sites. For
example, from June 2001 to April 2003, DOE, EPA, and Kentucky were in
dispute over the 2001 site management plan because they could not agree
on the cleanup scope and time frames. Specifically, in response to
congressional concern about the lack of cleanup progress prior to
hearings held in 1999, DOE, Kentucky, and EPA drafted a site management
plan to expedite cleanup actions at the site. According to Kentucky
officials, technical staff of all three parties agreed to this plan.
However, DOE headquarters officials later abandoned the plan, citing
budgetary constraints and their belief that the risk did not warrant
all the planned cleanup actions.
DOE and Kentucky have also had difficulty agreeing on the details of
specific cleanup projects. For example, it took the two parties 5
months to reach agreement on the amount and type of data required to
confirm that soil from the north-south diversion ditch could be
appropriately disposed of in an onsite landfill. DOE and Kentucky also
had difficulties resolving DOE's regulatory violations at the site,
which, according to DOE officials, slowed cleanup progress.
DOE and the regulators have recently resolved a number of differences
that were delaying cleanup actions. For example, in October 2003 DOE
and Kentucky agreed to a settlement that resolved outstanding
regulatory violations related to, among other things, DOE's management
of hazardous waste at the site. In addition, all three parties are
currently negotiating approval of the 2004 site management plan, which
will provide a framework for accelerating the cleanup. While we are
encouraged by these recent events, the success of the plan, once
approved, will depend on the parties' ability to reach agreement on the
scope and time frames for individual projects as the cleanup moves
forward. Furthermore, agreement on an accelerated cleanup plan may not
preclude future disputes between DOE and the regulators. For example,
DOE and the state of Washington have had an accelerated plan in place
since March 2002, but they only recently completed a lengthy
negotiation over time frames for disposal of mixed radioactive and
toxic wastes at the Hanford cleanup site.
In addition, as table 1 shows, the accelerated cleanup plan will be
only the latest of several cleanup plans for the site since 1999, all
of which have differed significantly in cost, scope, and time frame for
cleanup and were intended as solutions to problems at the site. For
example, DOE's Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management
testified in July 2000 that a solid and effective working relationship
had been established with Kentucky and EPA and a process was in place
that would lead to mutually supported cleanup decisions.[Footnote 8]
Ten months later, DOE was in dispute with the regulators over the site
management plan.
Table 1: DOE Estimates of Paducah Plant Cleanup Costs and Completion
Schedule:
Dollars in billions.
October 1999 appropriations hearing; Estimated cleanup cost: $0.7;
Estimated completion date: 2012.
January 2000 lifecycle baseline; Estimated cleanup cost: 1.3;
Estimated completion date: 2010.
Amended fiscal year 2003 site management plan; Estimated cleanup cost:
2.5; Estimated completion date: 2030.
Fiscal year 2004 site management plan; Estimated cleanup cost: 2.0;
Estimated completion date: 2019.
Sources: GAO and DOE.
[End of table]
Given DOE's past difficulties in reaching agreement with its regulators
and the details that remain to be agreed upon, it is unclear whether
DOE will be successful in accelerating the cleanup.
These are our observations to date. We will continue to further assess
DOE's progress and challenges in cleaning up the Paducah site and plan
to issue our final report in April 2004.
Thank you, Senator Bunning. This concludes my prepared statement. I
will be pleased to respond to any questions that you may have.
Contact and Acknowledgments:
For further information on this testimony, please contact me at (202)
512-3841. Individuals making key contributions to this testimony
included Nancy Crothers, Chris Ferencik, Kerry Dugan Hawranek, Kurt
Kershow, and Sherry McDonald.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Department of Energy, Office of Oversight, Office of Environment,
Safety, and Health, Phase I: Independent Investigation of the Paducah
Gaseous Diffusion Plant (Washington, D.C., Oct. 1999).
[2] U.S. General Accounting Office, Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE's
Paducah Plan Faces Uncertainties and Excludes Costly Cleanup
Activities, GAO/RCED-00-96 (Washington, D.C.: Apr. 28, 2000).
[3] H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 108-10, at 895 (2003).
[4] Uranium hexafluoride, a byproduct of the uranium enrichment
process, must be handled in leakproof containers because when it comes
into contact with water, such as water vapor in the air, it forms
corrosive hydrogen fluoride and a uranium-fluoride compound called
uranyl fluoride.
[5] Department of Energy, A Review of the Environmental Management
Program (Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2002).
[6] According to DOE, this estimate is based on the assumptions that
TCE was used at the site from 1953 to 1993 and that a fixed amount was
released to the ground each day. A high degree of uncertainty surrounds
this estimate, and the actual amount of TCE released cannot be
verified.
[7] No schedule currently exists for full-scale D&D of the operating
plant.
[8] July 12, 2000, testimony of Dr. Carolyn Huntoon before the House
Budget Committee Task Force on Natural Resources and the Environment.
