The cleanup of soil and landfills contaminated with nuclear waste, which DOE is on the hook for, could cost tens of billions of dollars and take decades. But the agency is unable to readily identify the scope, schedule, and cost of this cleanup.
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DOE found PFAS contamination in groundwater at Paducah, KY—up to 128,000 parts per trillion (ppt). No regulations currently limit PFAS in groundwater, but two PFAS types, PFOA and PFOS, are limited to 4 ppt in drinking water—about 1 drop in 5 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

DOE has used PFAS—which has been linked to health issues like cancer and infertility—in firefighting foam and for uranium enrichment, among other things. These applications can release PFAS into the environment, but the extent of contamination is unknown.

Most Department of Energy sites haven’t completed reviews of their use of “forever chemicals” known as #PFAS, which have been linked to harmful health effects. We recommend that DOE finish these reviews so it can fully address PFAS contamination. www.gao.gov/products/gao...

DOE has used PFAS—which has been linked to health issues like cancer and infertility—in firefighting foam and for uranium enrichment, among other things. These applications can release PFAS into the environment, but the extent of contamination is unknown.

Over half of WIPP’s mission-critical infrastructure is in poor condition—such as the salt shaft shown here, built in 1924—which jeopardizes the site’s waste disposal mission. We recommend some changes to help DOE better manage infrastructure at the site.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the nation’s only disposal site for defense-related transuranic nuclear waste. It’s projected to accept waste until the 2080s but much of its key infrastructure is decades old and needs repair/replacement. #nukesky www.gao.gov/products/gao...

To clean up its 15 legacy research and production sites, the Department of Energy expects to generate more than 11 million cubic meters of radioactive waste, enough to fill 4,400 Olympic-sized swimming pools. We don’t recommend taking a swim.
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Each year we send a letter to DOE reiterating our highest-priority recommendations. This year’s letter discusses 30 recs for addressing key challenges related to DOE’s contract management and environmental liability, among others. www.gao.gov/products/gao...

The sites are cleaning contaminated groundwater to drinking water standards using various techniques including phytoremediation–watering trees with contaminated water and allowing photosynthesis to remove many contaminants–and “pump-and-treat.”

When you (you being DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM)) expect to spend $10 billion and 50 years* on a project, you need the best info you can get to guide your decisions

*for just 4 of 13 sites where EM is responsible for cleaning groundwater!

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