United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-12-29 monographic deposited born digital 19 p. GA 1.13:RCED-95-49 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-49 P0b002ee18039ae2d f:rc95049 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-49 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-49 RCED-95-49 Nuclear waste management Toxic substances Nuclear waste storage Radioactive wastes Atomic energy defense activities Radiation exposure hazards Nuclear weapons plants GOCO Safety standards Nuclear facility safety Other Written Product RCED The Energy Department (DOE) faces a variety of important, unresolved safety problems with plutonium storage at the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado. When the plant was shut down in 1989, DOE intended to restart operations in a few months and plutonium was left in place or packaged for short-term storage. However, the operations were never restarted and the plutonium stayed where it was, raising concerns about plutonium liquid leaking from pipes and tanks, fire hazards, and worker exposure to plutonium. Although DOE has efforts under way to address these problems, important decisions, such as what to do with the plutonium residues, have yet to be made. As a result, estimating the time frames and the total cost for resolving the concerns is difficult. In any event, fully implementing DOE's programs will take many years and will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-49/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-49.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-49/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-49.pdf GAO/RCED-95-49 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-95-49 Other Written Product GAO/RCED-95-49; Nuclear Materials: Plutonium Storage at DOE's Rocky Flats Plant; Nuclear waste management Toxic substances Nuclear waste storage Radioactive wastes Atomic energy defense activities Radiation exposure hazards Nuclear weapons plants GOCO Safety standards Nuclear facility safety Public Law 100-456