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 1996-01-26 monographic deposited born digital 26 p. GA 1.13:RCED-96-56 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-56 P0b002ee180389f53 f:rc96056 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-56 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-56 RCED-96-56 Radioactive waste disposal Environment evaluation Reporting requirements Tanks (containers) Nuclear facilities Hazardous substances Nuclear waste management Safety regulation Information gathering operations DOE Hanford Tri-Party Agreement DOE Tank Waste Remediation System Program Letter Report RCED

GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) progress in characterizing its tank waste at its Hanford site, focusing on: (1) whether it has met its characterization deadlines; (2) the impediments to meeting characterization deadlines; and (3) the impact that continued delays have on the characterization process.<p/>GAO found that: (1) over the past 10 years, DOE has spent over $260 million and made little definitive progress in characterizing the tank wastes at Hanford; (2) DOE has not been able to meet characterization deadlines for the 54 tanks with known safety problems; (3) the DOE contractor has been unable to characterize any of the 177 tanks as ready for remediation; (4) DOE and its contractor have had problems performing reliable top-to-bottom samples, gathering sampling data, reconciling tank contents, and developing an effective tank characterization management system; (5) disagreement exists as to what kind and how much information is needed to reliably predict actual waste quantities and build appropriate treatment facilities; (6) Congress, DOE, and private contractors need better sampling and characterization information to reliably predict total program costs; and (7) these uncertainties could undermine the savings DOE expects to realize by privatizing the tank waste remediation program. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-56/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-56.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-56/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-56.pdf GAO/RCED-96-56 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-56 Letter Report GAO/RCED-96-56; Nuclear Waste: Management and Technical Problems Continue to Delay Characterizing Hanford's Tank Waste; Radioactive waste disposal Environment evaluation Reporting requirements Tanks (containers) Nuclear facilities Hazardous substances Nuclear waste management Safety regulation Information gathering operations DOE Hanford Tri-Party Agreement DOE Tank Waste Remediation System Program Title 31 Section 720 31 U.S.C. 720