[CPEO-MEF] RADIATION: Hanford (WA) Tanks

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Nuclear Waste: DOE Lacks Critical Information Needed to Assess Its Tank 
Management Strategy at Hanford

GAO-08-793
June 30, 2008  (46 pages)

Summary

The Department of Energy (DOE) manages more than 56 million gallons of 
radioactive and hazardous waste stored in 149 single-shell and 28 
double-shell underground tanks at its Hanford Site in Washington State. 
Many of these aging tanks have already leaked waste into the soil. 
Meanwhile, DOE's planned process for emptying the tanks and treating the 
waste--mixing it with molten glass and solidifying it in canisters for 
storage--has experienced delays, lengthening the time the tanks will 
store waste and intensifying concerns about the tanks' viability during 
a long cleanup process. This report addresses (1) the condition, 
contents, and long-term viability of Hanford's underground tanks; (2) 
DOE's strategy for managing the tanks; and (3) the extent to which DOE 
has weighed the risks and benefits of its tank management strategy 
against the growing costs of that strategy. GAO analyzed numerous 
studies and reports on the tanks and interviewed DOE officials and other 
experts on relevant issues.

DOE lacks comprehensive information about the condition, contents, and 
long-term viability of Hanford's waste tanks. Although recent work 
indicates that the newer, double-shell tanks are generally sound 
structurally, the condition of the older, single-shell tanks is less 
certain. All the tanks contain a complex mix of radioactive elements and 
chemicals, making the proportions of constituents in any tank uncertain 
and emptying the tanks technically challenging. DOE officials 
acknowledged the lack of information about the condition of the 
single-shell tanks and are in early stages of a study to assess these 
tanks' structural integrity. The uncertainties over tank condition, 
especially as the time frames for emptying tanks are extended and the 
tanks age, raise serious questions about the tanks' long-term viability. 
DOE's tank management strategy involves continuing to use Hanford's 
aging tanks to store waste until they can be emptied, the waste treated, 
and the tanks closed. As work proceeds, however, DOE's time frames for 
completion are lengthening by decades, and the agency appears to be 
operating under more than one schedule. For example, DOE's internal 
milestone for emptying single-shell tanks is 19 years later than the 
date agreed to with its regulators. Although DOE and its regulators have 
been discussing new tank waste management milestones, as of May 2008, no 
decisions had been reached. Moreover, DOE's tank management strategy 
relies on assumptions that may be overly optimistic, such as assuming 
that emptying single-shell tanks will proceed significantly faster than 
it has to date. DOE lacks comprehensive risk information needed to weigh 
the benefits of pursuing its tank waste removal and closure strategy 
against growing costs. In particular, DOE has not assessed the risks 
posed by continuing to store waste in the aging tanks until the waste is 
removed and cannot demonstrate that benefits are commensurate with the 
costs of its tank management strategy. DOE is nevertheless moving 
forward with negotiating new tank waste milestones with its regulators.


For the original summary and a link to the full report, go to
http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-793

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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