Summary

GAO conducted a review to determine the status of federal efforts and activities to correct decommissioning problems identified in a prior report. In addition to following up on the implementation of the recommendations for correcting these problems, GAO also evaluated how effectively Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decommissioning and standard-setting programs were functioning. The review was made as part of a continuing effort to identify issues in the nuclear area, which will provide public health and safety through better federal program administration.

Nuclear facilities and sites that require or eventually will require cleanup or other disposition can be tracked, evaluated, and recorded for follow-up action if needed. In the past, nuclear facilities and sites were abandoned or decommissioned without adequate documentation of their radiological status or even a record of their existence. As a result, federal agencies are uncertain about the location or status of some facilities and sites that may be in need of decommissioning. NRC, DOE, DOD, and EPA are attempting to locate and evaluate the hazards at old, inactive sites. Despite the problems that inadequate recordkeeping systems have caused federal agencies, only DOE is revising its current recordkeeping system to provide sufficient information on the location and radiological condition of its current and future nuclear facilities and sites. Federal decommissioning programs have not sufficiently considered and incorporated decommissioning needs during the facility planning and design phase. DOE and NRC are making some progress in developing comprehensive decommissioning policies which include many of the necessary provisions. DOD has not initiated action to develop a comprehensive decommissioning policy. Standards prescribing acceptable levels of residual radioactive contamination for decommissioned nuclear facilities are not expected to be available until mid-1986. EPA is responsible for setting these standards, but has not done so because it considers their development a low priority.