Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed hazardous waste management at the Department of Defense's (DOD) overseas installations, focusing on whether DOD bases overseas were protecting humans and the environment.

GAO found that: (1) due to unclear and outdated DOD policy and service regulations, it was difficult to determine the extent to which overseas bases should comply with U.S. laws when host country hazardous waste laws either did not exist or were not as stringent as U.S. laws; (2) some overseas bases did not provide adequate oversight of their activities that generated hazardous waste, and Inspectors General, audit agencies, and commands did not provide sufficient oversight; (3) shortcomings in hazardous waste management policy, training, and oversight have resulted in inadequate efforts to minimize the amount of hazardous waste being generated; (4) as of October 1990, 18 host country claims totalling $21.8 million resulted from the improper handling, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste; (5) DOD accepted responsibility for portions of some of these claims and, as of October 1990, it had partially reimbursed some of the claimants for about $50,000; (6) additional environmental pollution claims may be brought against U.S. forces at nearly 300 additional sites with an estimated settlement cost of $111 million for one-third of the claims; and (7) inappropriate hazardous waste management practices at overseas bases may jeopardize political and defense relationships with host nations.