Summary

This briefing report analyzes--using four different scenarios--the adequacy of a $500 million annual deposit into a fund to pay for the cost of cleaning up the Department of Energy's (DOE) three aging uranium enrichment plants located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Portsmouth, Ohio. GAO found that a fixed annual $500 million deposit made into a cleanup fund would not be adequate to cover total expected cleanup costs, nor would it be adequate to cover expected decontamination and decommissioning costs. A $500 million annual deposit indexed to an inflation rate would likely be adequate to pay for all expected cleanup costs, including decontamination and decommissioning costs, and depleted uranium costs.

GAO found that a: (1) fixed annual $500-million deposit into a clean-up fund would not be adequate to cover total expected clean-up costs or expected D&D costs; (2) $500-million annual deposit indexed to an inflation rate would provide adequate funding to cover estimated D&D costs; (3) $500-million annual deposit indexed to an inflation rate would also be adequate to cover estimated D&D costs, should a deposit less than $500 million be desired; and (4) $500-million initial deposit indexed to an inflation rate would provide adequate funding for all expected clean-up costs, but, during part of the clean-up period, the fund would not have enough money to pay for total expected costs and would have to borrow funds to meet those costs.