Hanford Cleanup: DOE Has Opportunities to Better Ensure Effective Startup and Sustained Low-Activity Waste Operations
Fast Facts
There are 54 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste being held in aging underground storage tanks at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site in Washington State.
DOE created the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program to help treat some of this waste, and built and modified several waste treatment facilities. These facilities are mostly complete but DOE faces challenges in starting operations. For example, some equipment is likely to be obsolete by the time operations begin, which could delay the schedule and increase costs.
We recommended that DOE ensure these issues are resolved during a test phase before starting normal operations.
Hanford Cleanup Waste Processing Facility
Highlights
What GAO Found
Facilities needed to start Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) operations—including pretreatment, treatment, and disposal facilities—are mostly complete, according to Department of Energy (DOE) documents (see fig.). DOE started pretreating tank waste at Hanford in early 2022 to build up a supply of waste feed for DFLAW operations, projected to start in 2023. Furthermore, DOE officials stated that the safety documentation required to start DFLAW operations is complete.
Phases of the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program at Hanford
DOE faces several challenges to starting and sustaining DFLAW operations. For example, according to DOE risk management documents, there is a high risk of inadequate availability of replacement parts and operating supplies for certain facilities, which will likely delay the DFLAW program schedule and increase costs. In addition, some equipment is likely to be obsolete by the time DFLAW facilities are operational, which would potentially delay the DFLAW program schedule and increase cost. According to DOE risk planning documents, several significant challenges may not be resolved by the end of hot commissioning using actual radioactive waste, and the start of normal DFLAW operations.
DOE's quality assurance program requires that problems with the quality of the work must include a determination of the extent to which adequate operating conditions exist. According to a 2020 DOE review, the contractor may not be aware of all known conditions and potential cost impacts. DOE officials stated that if the contractor has not fully addressed challenges before DFLAW operations are scheduled to begin, the costs may not be covered by the current contract. DOE is in negotiations with the contractor for a contract extension. Resolving challenges and problems by the end of hot commissioning and the start of normal operations will ensure that the costs to resolve challenges and problems do not fall on DOE.
Why GAO Did This Study
DOE created the DFLAW program to treat part of the least radioactive portion of the 54 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste held in 177 aging and leak-prone underground storage tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington State. DOE estimates that the DFLAW program will cost $8.3 billion when complete and begin treating waste in December 2023. DOE is currently in negotiations with the contractor on a possible contract extension for certain DFLAW facilities that may require additional work.
Senate Report 116–236 accompanying S. 4049, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, includes a provision for GAO to review the DFLAW program. Among other things, GAO's report describes the status of facilities needed to start DFLAW operations and examines the challenges DOE faces in starting and sustaining DFLAW operations. GAO reviewed agency documents and DFLAW program data from December 2020 through May 2021; analyzed DOE documents on DFLAW starting and operating challenges and risks, including DOE plans to manage them; and interviewed DOE officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making four recommendations, including that DOE ensures that existing challenges and problems in facilities, systems, and components related to DFLAW are resolved by the end of hot commissioning and the start of normal operations. DOE agreed with GAO's recommendations and stated that it is taking steps to implement them by December 31, 2022.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Office of Environmental Management | The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure that schedule estimates for the DFLAW program are developed and updated in accordance with GAO best practices. (Recommendation 1) |
In a June 2022 letter, signed by the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management that provided agency comments on our draft report, DOE stated that it concurs with this recommendation. DOE further stated that it had already implemented actions to increase oversight and improve execution of the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) project schedule and will continue these actions in alignment with this recommendation. On February 13, 2023, we met with DOE officials to discuss the status of GAO-22-104772 recommendations. At this meeting, DOE outlined actions it has taken to ensure the DFLAW schedule estimates were updated and reflected GAO's best practices. DOE provided documentation of its actions in October 2023. To determine if DOE's actions were sufficient to address our recommendation, GAO's Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics team completed an assessment of DOE's updated schedule estimate and found that DOE's actions were aligned with GAO's best practices.
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| Office of Environmental Management | The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure that cost estimates for the DFLAW program are developed and updated in accordance with GAO best practices. (Recommendation 2) |
In a June 2022 letter, signed by the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management that provided agency comments on our draft report, DOE stated that it concurred with this recommendation. DOE also stated that it had implemented actions to increase oversight and improve execution of the DFLAW project cost estimates and will continue these actions in alignment with the recommendation. On February 13, 2023, we met with DOE officials to discuss the status of GAO-22-104772 recommendations. At this meeting, DOE outlined actions it has taken to implement this recommendation and agreed to provide documentation of these actions. Documentation provided by DOE in October 2023 was reviewed by GAO's Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) group, which concluded that the action taken to implement this recommendation was insufficient to close this recommendation as implemented. In May 2024, DOE reported that it plans to complete a DFLAW contract modification that will result in an updated cost estimate that follows GAO cost estimating best practices. As of May 21, 2024, the updated DFLAW cost estimate is not complete.
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| Office of Environmental Management | The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure that the review of the contractor's EVM system for DFLAW facilities is completed to verify compliance with DOE requirements. (Recommendation 3) |
In a June 2022 letter, signed by the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management that provided agency comments on our draft report, DOE stated that it concurred with this recommendation. It also outlined actions that have been taken and are planned to ensure the review of the contractor's Earned Value Management system for DFLAW facilities is completed to ensure compliance with DOE requirements. In May 2023, DOE reported that it had taken several actions to complete implementation of this recommendation, including reviewing the contractor's EVM system to verify compliance with DOE's requirements and provided supporting documentation. To determine if these actions were sufficient to satisfy our recommendation, GAO's Science, Technology Assessment, and Analytics (STAA) team completed an assessment of DOE's actions and corresponding documentation. In their assessment, STAA determined that the contractor's EVM system and their actions addressed our recommendation.
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| Office of Environmental Management |
Priority Rec.
The Assistant Secretary of EM should ensure that existing challenges and problems identified in its review of facilities, systems, and components related to DFLAW are resolved by the end of hot commissioning. (Recommendation 4) |
In a June 2022 letter, signed by the Senior Advisor for the Office of Environmental Management that provided agency comments on our draft report, DOE stated that it concurred with this recommendation. DOE further stated in its letter that it continues to hold the contractor accountable to strengthen both management and execution of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant DFLAW project elements to begin immobilization of tank waste on schedule, while sustaining a robust safety and quality culture. On May, 2023, DOE provided an outline of the actions it is taking to implement this recommendation. These actions direct the contractor responsible for completing waste treatment facilities needed for DFLAW to include measures to ensure that existing challenges and problems with facilities, systems, and components related to DFLAW are resolved by the end of hot commissioning in their proposal for a contract extension for starting the operation of waste treatment facilities. This contract extension has not yet been finalized. In May 2024, DOE reported that it plans to complete a DFLAW contract modification that will require the DFLAW contractor to address the challenges identified during hot commissioning. As of May 21, 2024, the DFLAW contract extension has not been completed.
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