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Report: Govt. Cleanup Falls Short



In reference to the article below, there is good reason to believe that
DOE has seriously underestimated the cost of its cleanups at most of its
larger sites, not just Paducah GDP. Certainly the Congress doesn't want
to hear this, but estimated costs do not take into account facilities
that are not yet in the Environmental Management program yet will end up
being transferred to EM for decontamination, decommissioning and/or
demolition. Aside from that, contaminated areas of the larger sites are
incompletely characterized and there are still many waste storage and
disposal areas (tanks, impoundments, burial grounds, etc.) with
radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes for which there are no proven
effective and economical treatment technologies.

Regards,
Susan Gawarecki

Report: Govt. Cleanup Falls Short 

May 3, 2000                 
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) via NewsEdge Corporation - 

There is ``reason to doubt'' the Energy
Department can clean up a uranium-enrichment
plant in Kentucky on schedule and get that work
done within its budget, congressional auditors
said Tuesday. 

A report by the General Accounting Office, the
investigative and auditing arm of Congress,
states that DOE estimates it will take another 10
years and $1.3 billion to complete its efforts to
identify and remove toxic and radioactive
contamination at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion
Plant. That is in addition to $400 million it
already has spent. 

But the report says it will probably take much
more time and money to clean up the plant,
where uranium used to be enriched by the
government for bombs and is now enriched by a
private company for nuclear power. 

``DOE faces many challenges to completing its
cleanup as planned,'' the report stated. It was
released by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., who
ordered the audit. 

GAO reported that uncertainties about the
extent, source and nature of the contamination
could affect the department's timeline and cost
estimates. 

GAO also noted that the plan relies on the
assumption that federal funding for the cleanup
will increase to an average of $124 million
annually through 2010. The report notes that
figure is much higher than the $43 million the
department has received on average over the
past seven years. For fiscal 2001, the
department has requested $78 million. 

The report also states that the agency's overall
plan falls short of what actually needs to be
done. 

``Even when the planned cleanup has been
carried out, billions of dollars and many years will
be needed to address areas at the Paducah site
that are not in the cleanup plan,'' the report
stated. 

It said the plan does not address large amounts
of waste and scrap material, some of which
poses a risk of an uncontrolled nuclear reaction
that could threaten worker safety. The report
states that such a reaction could produce a
burst of radiation lasting several hours, but it
would be localized and would not result in an
explosion or release of radioactivity into the
atmosphere. 

The GAO said DOE also has not included various
unused buildings and structures and thousands
of tons of depleted uranium in its cleanup plan.
The report recommends that the project include
all materials that are potential health hazards to
workers and the public. 

Carolyn L. Huntoon, DOE assistant secretary for
environmental management, said in a written
response to the GAO that the report does not
account for ongoing work and improvements at
the site. 

Huntoon also criticized the document for failing
``to offer specific alternatives or
recommendations regarding DOE's planning
assumptions and targets for completing work.'' 

Bunning was critical of DOE. ``They're not
realistic in their approach,'' he said. 

Bunning added that he expects the Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee to hold
a hearing on the report, possibly as soon as next
week. 

-- 
==================================================
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee, Inc.
136 S Illinois Ave, Ste 208, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Phone (865) 483-1333; Fax (865) 482-6572; E-mail loc@icx.net 
==================================================
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