Uranium mill tailings: cleanup continues, but future costs are uncertain.

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) program for cleaning up uranium mill tailings, focusing on: (1) the status and cost of DOE surface and groundwater cleanups; and (2) factors that could affect the federal government's costs and liabilities in the future. GAO noted that: (1) DOE intends to complete the cleanup of surface and groundwater contamination sites by 2014, at a cost of more than $2.4 billion; (2) out of 24 sites, surface cleanup is complete at 15, under way at 7, and idle at 2; (3) surface cleanup costs total around $2 billion to date and may be completed in 1998 at an additional cost of $300 million; (4) DOE postponed its groundwater cleanup until 1991 because of its focus on surface cleanup and a delay in the Environmental Protection Agency's final groundwater standards; (5) DOE has not reached an agreement with any of the affected states or tribes to develop cleanup strategies or financial support; (6) DOE will need another $147 million to clean up the affected groundwater sites; (7) the costs and completion dates of the cleanups depend on whether DOE keeps a disposal site open to dispose of future unearthed tailings and whether states contribute 10 percent of the groundwater cleanup expenses; and (8) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not updated the minimum charge for owners of Title II sites to reflect the cost of basic surveillance and maintenance.