Office of Environmental Management (2020 Presidential transition): Difference between revisions

The {{w or p| U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management}} (EM) directly supports DOE’s Strategic Objective to continue cleanup of radioactive and chemical waste resulting from the {{w or p| Manhattan Project}} and {{w or p| Cold War}} activities. Successful cleanup depends on overcoming technical, quality assurance, schedule, regulatory, budgetary, and management challenges.

The {{w or p| Office of Environmental Management}} was established in 1989 to address the significant environmental liability that resulted from decades of nuclear weapons production and government- sponsored nuclear energy research that played a key role in domestic security and prosperity. This environmental legacy included millions of gallons of liquid radioactive waste, millions of cubic meters of solid radioactive wastes, and thousands of tons of used nuclear fuel and special nuclear material, along with huge quantities of contaminated soil and water. Over the past 30 years, EM has made significant progress in its mission, driving down environmental risks to the federal government. Out of an original 107 sites, cleanup activities have been completed at 91 sites in 30 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. EM is currently responsible for cleanup activities at 16 sites in 11 states  

* Opening the {{w or p| Defense Waste Processing Facility}} (DWPF) at the {{w or p| Savannah River Site}} in South Carolina in 1996. The DWPF is used to convert radioactive liquid waste currently stored at Savannah River into a solid glass form (through a process called vitrification) for safe long-term storage and ultimate disposal. The DWPF is currently the largest vitrification facility in the world.

* Opening the {{w or p| Waste Isolation Pilot Plant}} (WIPP) in New Mexico in 1999. WIPP is the only operating deep geological repository in the world and is used for disposal of defense-generated transuranic (TRU) waste. WIPP plays an integral role in the overall EM and NNSA missions, supporting cleanup efforts across the complex and national defense needs.

* Completing cleanup of the former {{w or p| Rocky Flats}} site in Colorado in 2005.

* Placing 6 of 9 former defense reactors at the Hanford Site in Washington state in an interim stabilized configuration (cocooning). A seventh reactor at Hanford, B Reactor, has been preserved as part of the {{w or p| Manhattan Project National Park}}.

* Approving the start of operation of the {{w or p| Salt Waste Processing Facility}} (SWPF) at {{w or p| Savannah River}}, which will significantly ramp-up EM’s ability to address tank waste at the site. SWPF construction was completed approximately eight months ahead of schedule, and $60 million under budget.

The EM mission is a significant contributor to the federal government’s environmental liabilities, which are one of the largest costs the government faces. As of FY19, EM’s liability is $402 billion. EM’s efforts to address tank waste, primarily located at the {{w or p| Hanford}} and {{w or p| Savannah River}} sites, account for approximately 60 percent of the overall liability, as well as approximately 40 percent of the program’s annual budget. With completion of the Salt Waste Processing Facility, Savannah River now has all of the planned facilities to address tank waste there. EM believes the bulk of the tank waste mission at that site could be completed in a decade, reducing liabilities. However, at Hanford, the liability is anticipated to continue to increase as EM works to develop a comprehensive strategy to address tank waste.

{{w or p| Office of Environmental Management}}