Affordable Cleanup?: Opportunities for Cost Reduction in the Decontamination and Decommissioning of the Nation's Uranium Enrichment Facilities (1996)

The committee will provide independent scientific and technical advice to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) consistent with the requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to conduct a study and provide recommendations for reducing costs associated with the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of the uranium enrichment facilities at Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Portsmouth, Ohio. As part of the study, the committee will also assess options for the disposition of depleted uranium hexafluoride held in storage by DOE, but will not assess remedial actions at areas outside of the major buildings and structures at any of the three sites. In the course of its work, the committee will:

• Hold a series of meetings, including a workshop, to receive briefings, obtain information, consider different D&D approaches, conduct analyses, deliberate on findings and issues, and write its final report.
• Review two recent D&D cost studies conducted for the DOE by Ebasco Services, Inc., and TLG Engineering, Inc., including D&D requirements and system level assumptions underlying the cost estimates, and examine D&D options and technologies for the three sites. Review the cost study performed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems on the disposition of depleted uranium hexafluoride generated at the gaseous diffusion plants.
• Seek inputs from the operators of the uranium enrichment facilities, the Congress, the General Accounting Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, executive branch agencies including the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other interested organizations, and from other countries where relevant D&D activities have been undertaken.
• Review case studies drawn from the D&D of other facilities in the United States and elsewhere. Conduct site visits, examine surveys of facility contaminations (performed by DOE and its contractors), and hold meetings at all three uranium enrichment sites preparatory to evaluating the scientific and engineering knowledge base on which it can make recommendations to the DOE.

• Identify, screen, and evaluate alternative technologies relevant to the D&D and assess the costs and benefits of alternative cleanup methods considering waste containment technologies versus waste destruction technologies as they apply to the various sites. In relation to risks to human health and the environment, examine the potential for reduced D&D costs from federal investments in research and development on new cleanup technologies, and recovery and recycling of radioactively contaminated materials.